Italian
Another gem close to us
MASERADA SUL PIAVE (TV) – On the occasion of the Autumn Days of the FAI, which took place throughout Italy on October 11 and 12, in the province of Treviso, in addition to the highly popular site of the Brion Tomb in San Vito D’Altivole, which had to arrange a series of parking spaces and even a refreshment point for the long lines of visitors that formed, the Church of Santa Lucia in Biadene and the Church of San Pietro e Paolo in Castello di Roguanzuolo, a real gem was offered to us in Maserada sul Piave, the Sugana Persico Rossi villa.
It is one of the oldest villas in the province of Treviso and seems to have originally been a hospital convent of the order of the Paulines. In the 1400s it was acquired by the Greek family of Papadopoli and converted into a sumptuous noble residence and summer retreat, which was expanded with the addition of agricultural buildings and stables for the steward and workers. In the 1500s it was looted, along with the town, during the War of Cambrai (1508-16) by the Landsknechts.
In the 1600s, the complex belonged to the canon of the city of Treviso, Mons. Ferdinando Sugana Collalto, Franciscan General Vicar, who built a public oratory on the site of the previous chapel of the convent, dedicating it to Saint Francis of Assisi. In the 1700s, it became the property of the noble Nicola Gigameide of Treviso. In the 1800s, more than five thousand French soldiers, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, entered Maserada, looting the town for three days, and the villa, further devastated, then became the headquarters of the French command.
In 1831, the villa, belonging to Count Marco Moretti fu Antonio, was sold in 1840 to the Jewish merchant Laudadio Eludi Beceaco and subsequently in 1850 passed to Count Matteo Persico.
During the Risorgimento, it was the headquarters of the Austrian command and during World War I, being the headquarters of the Italian command, it was bombed. In the last period of World War II, it was the headquarters of the German command detachment, which continued its devastating work.
In 1934, it was purchased by the Rossi family, whose children are the current owners.
The villa was subsequently restored to its former glory, thanks to careful restoration work between the 1940s and 1960s. Inside the villa, there is an extensive cycle of frescoes depicting biblical and epic scenes, allegories, landscapes, and ruins, typical themes of the time of the painter Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese (1528-1588), who, along with his son Carletto and his brother Benedetto, founded the school known as “the Caliari workshop.” The capital of a column, painted on the vaulted ceiling of the top floor, indeed bears a monogram that belongs to the author.
The passing hall on the ground floor of the main body is enriched by a stone washbasin predating the decoration of the frescoes. A false loggia recovers an effective late sixteenth-century tradition for framing the narrative sequence. The large scenes are visually striking but not precisely identifiable. To the right of the main entrance, a door leads into a small room known as the “Cleopatra’s sitting room,” where episodes centered around the queen of Egypt are depicted, perfectly preserved. A service opening leads into a spacious area intended for silkworm farming activities starting from the nineteenth century.
In the theater hall, fake architectural elements frame scenes of a historical and allegorical nature. Two doors on the northern side lead to small rooms where there are paintings with hunting subjects. An opening to the east leads to the barchessa, a large space designated from the 1800s for silk farming activities and the oratory dedicated to Saint Francis. A large pictorial apparatus of allegorical and religious significance also unfolds in the noble floor environments, replicating a model similar to that of the Hall of Allegories, but enhanced by a vaulted ceiling entirely frescoed.
The villa is not normally open to the public because it is not inhabited by the owners, who, however, maintain the building in excellent condition. The completely frescoed interior spaces are visually striking. The exterior is pleasant, framed by Lebanon cedars and multicolored oleanders.
So once again the mission of the FAI has been achieved: to make us aware of the hidden beauties of our territory so that we can love it even more and become responsible citizens for its conservation and enjoyment.
