Museum Villa Pojana

Welcome to Villa Pojàna in Pojàna Maggiore.
I will be your guide throughout the tour of the rooms. Observe, listen, admire.

“In Pogliana […] stands the fine residence of Cavalier Pogliana: its rooms have been adorned with beautiful paintings and stuccoes […], the large halls are a square and two-thirds long, and vaulted […]” — this is how Palladio himself introduces Villa Pojana in the second of his Four Books of Architecture.

The building rises in front of a 15th-century courtyard, once a bishop’s castle dating back to the 10th century, dominated by a tower. Palladio’s project originally included the entire surrounding area, with the manor house, farm buildings, gardens, an orchard, and spaces for rural life. However, only part of this ambitious plan was completed.

The villa, highly praised by critics, stands at the far end of the courtyard on a raised base containing service rooms. Its façade features a serliana framed by a double arch with five roundels, opening onto a loggia in a style inspired by the architect Bramante.

The villa was commissioned around 1546 by Bonifacio Pojana, a member of a Vicentine family who, thanks to their service to the Republic of Venice during the War of the League of Cambrai, were granted vast estates in these fertile lands. With the arrival of the Pax Veneta, the countryside became safe again, and renewed interest in agriculture led many noble families to invest heavily in land reclamation and large-scale farming. At the same time, it became fashionable among the wealthy to spend summers in the villa — the season of harvest and grape gathering — combining business, leisure, and cultural pursuits.

The Pojana family had a long tradition as men of arms and tied its name to the small town itself. In his Four Books of Architecture, Palladio describes Bonifacio Pojana as Cavalier Pogliana and praises him as “magnificent and noble in spirit, leaving nothing undone to provide his residence with every possible ornament and comfort.” We do not know Bonifacio’s birth date, but we do know the date of his marriage contract with Piera di Bernardino Porto: 1545. He had no children and left his estate to his nephews.

Locals have long preferred to call the villa “Bella Giuditta” due to a mistaken interpretation of one of the three statues placed on the front pediment. A female figure holding a head was once thought to represent Judith with the head of Holofernes. In fact, a closer historical reading suggests that the three statues symbolize the arts: painting on the left, sculpture in the center, and architecture on the right.

Not all of the complex designed beside the villa was completed. We know the construction of the northern barchessa (farm wing) was begun, with a Tuscan-style colonnade, but the connecting structure between the villa and the wing was altered by later architects, differing from Palladio’s original vision. It is important to note that many Palladian projects were interrupted due to the patrons’ financial difficulties, often leaving construction unfinished for a generation. Indeed, Bonifacio’s nephew Nicolò later took charge of expanding the villa with further works.

This villa remains more modest in size compared to Palladio’s later, more mature projects. Its design is based on pure geometric figures — circle, square, rectangle, triangle — creating an essential, clean, simple, and austere style. It was built with relatively modest materials, such as brick, reflecting a careful control of costs during construction. The external plaster imitates squared stone, giving visitors the impression of a more expensive and noble surface.