Exterior view

The villa, executed for the brothers Nicola and Alvise Foscari about the end of the 1550s, is located in an isolated block on the edge of the lagoon and the banks of the river Brenta. It rises on a high basement, which separates the piano nobile from the damp terrain and confers magnificence upon the whole building, raised up on a podium like an ancient temple.

The Villa Foscari at Malcontenta di Mira, close to Venice, is another of Palladio’s villas with strongly scenographic qualities. The building is raised on an unusually high base, giving it an urban character, while the rustication running all round it contributes to its rural character. The portico of the fa�ade facing the river, crowned by a massive pediment, is balanced on the rear fa�ade facing the surrounding countryside by a large thermal window inscribed in a broken-bed pediment, a device that occurs in other buildings by Palladio and indicates both his study of antiquity and his independent treatment of the idiom derived from it.

The photo shows the rear elevation.

View the ground plan of Villa Foscari, Malcontenta di Mira.