Villa Gritti

The first owners were probably members of the Cavalli family, wealthy owners from Verona. In fact, Pietro Cavalli made a large land purchase in the area in 1408. Later, in 1480, the villa was transferred to the family of Marquis Malaspina and then in 1522 to his daughter Giulia, who was married to the Venetian nobleman Alvise Gritti.

The Gritti family expanded the villa, moving the farm buildings from the east side to the west side of the manor house. In 1830, Francesco Gritti sold the villa to the Camuzzoni family, who acquired it in a state of abandonment, due to numerous flooding from the surrounding rivers and the Napoleonic battles fought a few decades earlier in the nearby territories.

Giulio Camuzzoni took care of restoring the villa to its original splendor, and under his ownership it reached its peak of beauty. The entrance to the garden was built with a gate decorated with stone vases, neo-Moorish greenhouses, and the crenellated tower. Thus, the complex became characterized by a plurality of architectural styles.

 

Today, the north facade is the representative one, enriched by an Italian garden, with a neoclassical central body and a triangular pediment. The double staircase leads directly to the noble floor, characterized by framed windows. The building is flanked by two two-story structures: the one to the northeast is in eclectic style, while the one to the northwest is in Moorish style.
The south facade, on the other hand, is simpler and represents the productive part of the villa: it opens onto a large courtyard and is flanked by two large farm buildings. At the end of the garden surrounding the courtyard, there is a rustic building from the late 16th century with a ground floor portico supported by 18th-century Doric columns.

 

In the northwest corner of the garden, we find the church dedicated to San Matteo, adorned with a bell tower and restored in 1926. The sober facade features a pediment supported by two pairs of pilasters with Ionic capitals.