May 25, 2008_Back to the Brenta

In previous posts you will see that we often go to the Brenta River area at Dolo, Stra, etc because there are many villas there of all types that were built by the prosperous Venetians in prior centuries. There were still more villas to be seen, plus today was the day that Dolo hosted the outdoor antique market. We saw these two boats of “gondoliers” punting on the river.

The red team



And the blue team



We saw two villas today. The first was Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari.





The exterior was similar to some of the other smaller villas we have seen; however, the interior was quite more ornate.






A picture of the front yard



The back of the villa



The building located beside the villa and the back yard








Along with a resident peacock



And a turtle who was sunning himself on the stream beside the yard



The other villa we visited was called Barchetta. This is actually what is left of a more vast estate. The main villa was torn down in the last century because the family could not afford to pay the taxes on it. There were a pair of barchettas, or guest houses, flanking the main villa, and this is the only remaining one. They are called barchettas because the family boats, or barges, would be stored under the large porches.

The front of Barchetta






And peeking through one of the front doors



Pictures of the front yard





The side yard



The roses



Rear of the villa



Back door