We continued down the lane a bit more. Ahead of us we could now see the circular piazza where the heart of the antiques market was beating. On one side it was flanked by a beautiful quarter-circle building. On the other – and right beyond the long canal – stood the majestic Villa Contarini.
a wonderful example of
VENETIAN VILLA
The Villa Contarini – Fondazione G. E. Ghirardi estate stands in Piazzola sul Brenta (PD) on the ruins of an ancient castle built by the Dente family around the year 1000. Later it became a property of the Carraresi family, who were the rulers of Padua, and was then inherited by a member of the Contarini family.
The Villa was a farmhouse up until the mid-17th century: it was Marco Contarini, Procurator of St Mark, who expanded the building making it a palace and an extremely picturesque place.