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{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| image         = VillaCornaro 2007 07 14 front 1.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption       = Villa Cornaro
| location      = [[Piombino Dese]], [[Province of Venice]], [[Veneto]], [[Italy]]
| part_of       = [[City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto]]
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(i), (ii)}}(i), (ii)
| ID            = 712bis-023
| coordinates   = {{Coord|45|36|14|N|11|59|57|E|type:landmark|display=title}}
| year          = 1994
| extension     = 1996
| website       = 
| area          = 
| locmapin      = Italy Veneto#Italy
| map_caption   = 
}}
'''Villa Cornaro''' is a patrician [[villa]] in [[Piombino Dese]], about 30&nbsp;km northwest of [[Venice]], Italy. It was designed by the Italian Renaissance architect [[Andrea Palladio]] in 1552 and is illustrated and described by him in Book Two of his 1570 masterwork, ''[[I quattro libri dell'architettura]]'' (The Four Books on Architecture).<ref>Andrea Palladio, ''The Four Books on Architecture'', translated by Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2002) bk. 2, {{ISBN|0-262-66133-0}}.</ref> Villa Cornaro is an example of one of Palladio's designs whose influence can be seen in later architecture. In efforts on preservation, Villa Cornaro has not always remained in the possession of the state.

==Architecture==

The designing of the Villa Cornaro's main body took place between 1551 and 1552, with it being usable as of 1554. The side wings of the villa would not be brought to completion until 1596 by [[Vincenzo Scamozzi]]. In this time period Palladio began to alter his use of orders, architectural styles, within buildings.The Villa Cornaro marks one of Palladio's first uses of the pedimented portico. The villa was designed in a period of time when Palladio's method of designing was changing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mitrović |first=Branko |date=2004 |title=Andrea Palladio’s Villa Cornaro in Piombino Dese |url=https://www.academia.edu/4540332/Andrea_Palladio_s_Villa_Cornaro_in_Piombino_Dese |journal=Nexus Network Journal |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=15–30 |issn=1590-5896}}</ref> The north façade has a projecting central portico-loggia that is a flexible living space out of the sun and open to cooling breezes. The interior space of the villa showcases a symmetrical arrangement, a main principle of Palladio's architecture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Villa Cornaro Restoration {{!}} Rush Library Special Collection {{!}} Florida SouthWestern State College |url=https://www.fsw.edu/cultural/rushlibrary/palladiorestoration |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=www.fsw.edu}}</ref> Rooms of inter-related proportions composed of squares and rectangles flank a central axial vista, which extends through the house. As [[Rudolf Wittkower]] noted,<ref>Wittkower, ''Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism''  (London: Tiranti) 1962:72.</ref> by moving subsidiary staircases into the projecting wings and filling matching corner spaces with paired oval principal stairs, space was left for a central ''salone'', which is fully as wide as the porticos. The central core of the villa forms a rectangle in which there are six repetitions of a standard module. As of the year 1717, [[Mattia Bortoloni]] was commissioned for the creation of over one hundred frescos to decorate the Villa Interior. The frescos that occupy the first floor depict various scenes from the Old Testament; the second floor frescos display scenes of the New Testament. Other artistic endeavors that occupy the villa include six sculptural portraits portraying important figures to the family. Some of the depictions include [[Catherine Cornaro]] (the Queen of Cyprus), Doge Marco Cornaro (the builder of the villa), and Admiral Giorgio Cornaro. These additions to the Villa Cornaro were completed by sculptor [[Camillo Mariani]].<ref name=":0" />

==Influence==
Through its illustration in Palladio's ''I quattro libri dell'architettura'', in the 18th century Villa Cornaro became a model for villas all over the world. One such example is [[Marble Hill House]] (1724–29)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.architecture.com/librarydrawingsandphotographs/palladio/palladianbritain/villasinbritain/villafeatures/plan.aspx |title=RIBA "Palladio and Britain" |access-date=2014-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221231128/http://www.architecture.com/librarydrawingsandphotographs/palladio/palladianbritain/villasinbritain/villafeatures/plan.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in [[Twickenham|Twickenham, London]]. Additionally the influence of [[Andrea Palladio]] can be seen in the use of two story porticos in American architecture. Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina is one example of an American structure that boasts this specific feature from Palladio's architecture.<ref>Loth, C. (2008a). Palladio’s Influence in America. Richmond: Virginia Department of Historic Resources.</ref>

==Conservation==

Richard Rush purchased the Villa Cornaro in 1969 from the Council of the Villas of the Veneto (L'Ente per le Ville Venete), an organization within Italian Government dedicated to preserving the national monuments of Italy in the Veneto. Rush and his wife, Julia, restored the villa and furnished it with antiques over a period of twenty years under the supervision of the Superintendent of Monuments. Existing since the 1550's, the Villa required some restoration, including but not limited to pillars damaged by American Planes During World War II . Other items, such as blown out windows, also required repairs.<ref name=":0" /> Since 1996 the villa has been conserved as part of a [[World Heritage Site]] "[[City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto]]".<nowiki>''</nowiki>

The villa is owned by Carl and Sally Gable, of [[Atlanta, Georgia]], who purchased it in 1989 for $2 million from Dr. Rush. In 2017, the couple put up the villa for sale; the asking price was 35 million British pounds.<ref>Sally Gable and Carl I. Gable, ''Palladian Days: Finding a New Life in a Venetian Country House'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), {{ISBN|1-4000-4337-9}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="nolines" heights="180">
File:VillaCornaro 2007 07 14 back 4.jpg|Villa Cornaro at Piombino Dese by Andrea Palladio  (taken by Hans A. Rosbach) 
File:VillaCornaro 2007 07 14 room.jpg|Interior of Villa Cornaro by Andrea Palladio (taken by Hans A. Rosbach)
File:VillaCornaro 2007 07 14 main hall.jpg|Main Hall, Villa Cornaro at Piombino Dese by Andrea Palladio (taken by Hans A. Rosbach 
File:Villa Cornaro pianta Bertotti Scamozzi 1781.jpg|Ground plan by Bertotti Scamozzi, 1781 
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Villa Cornaro}}
* [[Palladian architecture]]
* [[Palladian Villas of the Veneto]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071030023519/http://www.cisapalladio.org/veneto/scheda.php?sezione=4&architettura=4&lingua=e "Palladio and the Veneto"] a catalogue of the villas maintained by www.cisapalladio.org. {{in lang|en|it}}
*[http://www.boglewood.com/palladio/cornaro.html Palladio's Italian Villas (Villa Cornaro-Gable)]
*[http://www.boglewood.com/palladio/analysis.html "The Secrets of Palladio's Villas", Carl I. Gable]
*[http://www.palladiancenter.org Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc.]

{{Andrea Palladio}}

[[Category:Houses completed in 1554]]
[[Category:Renaissance architecture in Veneto]]
[[Category:Villas in Veneto|Cornaro]]
[[Category:Andrea Palladio buildings]]
[[Category:Palladian villas of Veneto]]
[[Category:1554 establishments in the Republic of Venice]]