It is easy to imagine elegant ladies with voluminous eighteenth century dresses strolling in small brigades in the park at Villa Pisani in the small town of Stra, near Padua.
It is easy to imagine a sparkling and whimsical life taking place in the 114 rooms of the imposing Villa owned by the noble Pisani family, one of the richest and most powerful families in Venice.
Just go back to the early eighteenth century, when two brothers, Almoro' and Alvise Pisani, started works to transform their modest country residence along the Brenta River into a princely villa. There were many beautiful villas along the banks of the river, where Venetian nobles and rich merchants spent their summers, but Villa Pisani was the most impressive. Its model was Versailles, visited by Advise Pisani during his stay as Venetian ambassador at the court of King Louis XIV between 1699 and 1703, but adapted to the available space, delimited by a river bend, and, above all, to the family's financial resources. Alvise Pisani was appointed Doge of the Republic of Venice in 1735 and Villa Pisani was completed in 1756, but, by the end of the eighteenth century, the family was in serious financial troubles, worsened by the economical and political decline of the Serenissima.
Alvise had to sell the property to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807. In subsequent years, new owners succeeded following the turbulent political events, but its original formal design and meaning were not compromised.
Unlike Versailles, they were not connected to the Villa but to the Exedra, an extravagant pavilion with six concave faces crossed by six alleys that disappear in the park. The capricious building is crowned by a terrace, with a perfect round opening in the centre, and six couples of statues, dedicated to the arts, around the balustrade. The Exedra was the focus of the park, the center from which radiated the geometry of alleys and perspectives, and which celebrated not only the power and wealth of the Pisani but the local traditions of leisure, culture and productive activities strictly associated to the Venetian villas.
There were many other interesting things in the park: a coffee house, later surrounded by a ring of water, an intricate maze with central turret, where elegant ladies indulged in loving games, a precious collection of citrus fruits in huge pots, fruits trees and vineyards, statues of ancient gods along the alleys that, through windows and decorated portals in the boundary walls, expanded in the countryside.
The area between the Villa and the sumptuous horse stables, was decorated with a parterre de borderie. Illustrious guests could admire its intricate arabesques from the piano nobile of the Villa. The list of their names is as impressive as the accounts of their fabulous parties, more and more extravagant while decline inexorably approached.
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| "Figure nel parco", Emma Ciardi. Oil on canvas |
Alvise had to sell the property to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807. In subsequent years, new owners succeeded following the turbulent political events, but its original formal design and meaning were not compromised.Unlike Versailles, they were not connected to the Villa but to the Exedra, an extravagant pavilion with six concave faces crossed by six alleys that disappear in the park. The capricious building is crowned by a terrace, with a perfect round opening in the centre, and six couples of statues, dedicated to the arts, around the balustrade. The Exedra was the focus of the park, the center from which radiated the geometry of alleys and perspectives, and which celebrated not only the power and wealth of the Pisani but the local traditions of leisure, culture and productive activities strictly associated to the Venetian villas.
There were many other interesting things in the park: a coffee house, later surrounded by a ring of water, an intricate maze with central turret, where elegant ladies indulged in loving games, a precious collection of citrus fruits in huge pots, fruits trees and vineyards, statues of ancient gods along the alleys that, through windows and decorated portals in the boundary walls, expanded in the countryside.
The area between the Villa and the sumptuous horse stables, was decorated with a parterre de borderie. Illustrious guests could admire its intricate arabesques from the piano nobile of the Villa. The list of their names is as impressive as the accounts of their fabulous parties, more and more extravagant while decline inexorably approached.
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| "Dama in rosa" Emma Ciardi. Oil on canvas, 1909 |
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| "Dame in giardino" Emma Ciardi. Oil on canvas, 1916. |
Emma Ciardi did not know this world. Born in Venice in 1879 in a family of solid artistic traditions, she devoted her life to painting, travelling in Italy and abroad to find new inspiration and exhibit her works. She painted Venetian views and landscapes, full of people and movement and she visited the old villas fascinated by their formal gardens. Dark hedges, green architectures, fountains, huge staircases and statues were became the perfect background for delicious figurines of elegant ladies and mysterious men. There are no faces or stories, just shades, lights and bold colour brush strokes to recreate an imaginary life.
Photos:
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| "The golden sedan chair", Emma Ciardi. Oil on canvas, 1923 |
paintings by Emma Ciardi (1879-1933):
"Figure nel parco" (Figures in the park), Oil on canvas
https://www.fidesarte.it/
"Dama in rosa" (Lady in pink), Oil on canvas, 1909.
https://www.farsettiarte.it/
"Dame in giardino" (Ladies in the garden), Oil on canvas, 1916
https://www.the-saleroom.com/
"The golden sedan chair" Oil on canvas, 1923
http://www.pandolfini.it/
Links:
Villa Pisani, Stra, Padova
http://www.villapisani.beniculturali.it/
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