Villa ‘La Rotonda’ lies just outside the city of Vicenza, perched on a small hill with woods and hills behind. We’ve passed by it many times, as we’ve gone on the cycle path which runs along the Riviera Berica road. You get a great view of this beautiful building in a natural and bucolic setting.

I finally got the chance to visit this place. The special occasion was yet another magical event organised by the cultural group La Fenice Blu. Do you remember? The one I visited La Fenice Theatre with.

The Countess Benedetta Valmarana spent the summers of her childhood at ‘La Rotonda’. She kindly acted as our personal guide. She showed us around the villa and its gardens.

Her anecdotes and memories of those days helped those of us on the tour to imagine what life was like: in my mind I saw the woods and the parkland as a place where children would run around, screaming with laughter, maybe playing hide and seek among the trees and chasing each other until they can run no more…

But before I get ahead of myself, let’s back track to see how it all began:

‘La Rotonda’ was designed by Vicenza’s star architect (who else?), Andrea Palladio for his client, Paolo Almerico way back in the 1560’s. Almerico was a cleric and count. He craved a quiet place outside of the city. He wanted to find peace in his retirement.

All these years later I think we can say that nothing much has changed. It is still a place which calms the spirit.

‘Rotonda’ means ‘rounded’ in English and refers here to the cupola (dome) used by Palladio for the first time in a non-religious setting. The cupola lies above a ‘cube’ made of four identical facades containing a portico and a flight of steps.

Local nobles, the Capra brothers bought the property in 1591 from Valmerico’s descendants and used the villa as a hunting lodge. They added decorative elements like the frescoes inside the cupola.

In 1605 talented local architect Vincenzo Scamozzi completed the construction of the villa and added the barchessa colonnaded service wing in 1620.

The Villa stayed in the Capra family until 1818 after which there were various owners. Then in 1912 it came into the Valmarana family.

The family continued to live there during the summer months until the 1970’s.

It was opened to the public in 1980. In 1994 it was recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site

Our tour began at the beautiful pathway leading up to the Villa, lined with fluffy pink rose bushes. The Contessa sets out to recreate for us the atmosphere of a family house, not a museum.

So first we saw the Barchessa, a covered area, open on one side with high arches while on the other side there are windows and a door. This was where the stables used to be and where the cows were kept.

And above there were the storage barns for the hay.

For as the countess explained, the villa was at the heart of a self-sufficient country estate.

The family’s favourite dishes were all made with produce grown and reared on the farm. Bollito is different meats simmered in broth, finely sliced and served with sauces. It was made for Nonno (grandfather). The children feasted on a cotoletta con patate (veal cutlet with potatoes).

The Countess encouraged us to lie down on the grass and see how the Villa seemed to be sort of floating over the grass. I could have stayed there even longer.

Sitting on soft, spongey grass on a warm, sunny day and gazing at clouds or looking for lucky clover is such a regenerating and grounding experience.

Well, readers. That was more than a regular museum visit. In English we have those two words ‘house’ and ‘home’ to talk about ‘casa’. Today we visited a beautiful house that was also a family home. The Countess managed to recreate in our minds what that home was like. For a few hours we went back in time and experienced the villa and the gardens in another dimension.