The architectural complex of Villa Valmarana takes its name from the famous Venetian family that organized parties and summer stays there throughout the 18th century. The Barchessa is what remains of the seventeenth-century Villa Valmarana, a complex building consisting of the main body of the villa on whose sides two barchesse are located. Until the late 1600s, the barchessa was that part of the villa that remained in the service of agriculture, as a granary, and under whose arches the boats were stored.
Only one of the two barchesse is open to the public, and inside it still retains its original furnishings and is richly frescoed by Michelangelo Schiavoni (1712-1772) known as Il Chiozzotto. The frescoes, which had been covered with whitewash in 1908 to adapt the barchesse for use as a stable-barn and cellar-tavern, were recovered in 1962. In the ceiling of the central hall, within a Tiepolo-style sky, is depicted “the Glory of the Valmarana family”.
The sumptuous surroundings of the Barchessa, with its majestic facade, a large double-columned portico and the lush gardens that surround it, are a perfect location for events. The portico, which features a harmonious alternation of stone seating and statues in neoclassical style, holds a historic ornamental wagon, which lends itself to impressive stage settings.
