Villa Carlotti

The Carlotti family purchased the property from the Cavalli family, thereby expanding their land holdings in San Bonifacio, where they had owned land since at least the early 1600s, and where they continue to acquire more, completing the plan to create a business with a good expanse and a functional management center represented by the manor house.

The main building of the 1500s was enlarged and completed in the early years of the 1700s. Two barn structures were indeed added to the sides, and another was finally erected to close the courtyard, equipped with a small dovecote. The complex consists of two courtyards: one for the master and one rustic, divided by the road connecting the agricultural plots located to the north and those situated to the south of the buildings, which thus found itself at the center of the estate.

The palace features a south-facing facade with three tiers of windows on three floors. The ground-floor windows are in a 16th-century style with a typical grille and belong to the original building, as does the entrance portal framed by a characteristic rusticated stonework. The main transformation works were mostly carried out between 1670 and 1711 by Giulio Carlotti. Two rooms were added to each side of the original 16th-century core, thereby extending the façade which acquired a Neoclassical appearance. The granary was raised and equipped with new baroque-style lobed rectangular windows. In the central part, a loggia with two tiers of arcades was built, whose ground-level openings are divided by smooth rusticated pillars and an architrave that recalls the design of the portal; while on the main floor, two central columns and two square-section pilasters on the sides support three arches. Surmounting the loggia is a sinuous molding topped by a statue representing “Jupiter with eagle,” at whose feet the coat of arms of the Carlotti marquises is depicted. The statue of this deity, attributed to Francesco Filippini, is likely the only surviving piece from a larger cycle of statues depicting Greek deities. At the center of the top, in a marble cartouche, the date 1704 is inscribed, marking the completion of the work on this element of the building.

The interior of the villa has the typical layout of a Venetian house with a central hall from which the side rooms open. The walls were supposed to be framed by 18th-century stuccoes that now no longer exist.