travelswithalice

July 21, 2005

Villa Poiana

Looking at Villa Poiana from the entry gates, I pictured it taking its place among today’s contemporary modern houses. The building, massive as it was, sat close to the ground, hugging it. To my untrained but very interested eye, the solid lines of the façade suggested a sureness of purpose and a mastery of execution.

Horizontal lines abounded, emphasizing the house’s bulk. Moldings wrapped around it at various levels. To me, this gave it the same effect that underlining gives to a word or a sentence. A water table designed to throw rainwater away from the ground floor traced yet another line around the house, giving the impression of pulling in or pulling together the building. The effect was of a neatly tied package; and a beautiful package it was.

I couldn't tear myself away from this beautiful house. The bold, precise strokes of the stylized serliana fronting the loggia (I had by this time picked up on a few aspects of Palladian design) gave the serene white building a distilled elegance.

The line of circular windows called oculi (in this case, they were actually blind windows, not openings at all) arcing above the central arch of the loggia had a hypnotic effect on me.

When I was at school, I drew pictures and doodled incessantly. I drew swags and curlicues on the margins of school books, sketched little portraits of classmates, and designed dresses.

This is probably why the picture that came to mind as I gazed on this masterful building, designed and built by arguably the greatest architect of all time, was that of a dress. A sharply tailored dress, decorated only with simple piping subtly tracing its classic lines.

As I took a final tour of the grounds, one of the restorers listlessly chipping away at the ceiling of the basement asked, “Are you American?”

I suppose only Americans ever showed interest. Apart from one other man- we saw him on the road later, on foot, probably a local- we were the only visitors that day.

I told Stuart our next house is going to look exactly like Villa Poiana. He looked doubtful. The house can’t be scaled down and it needs to be in a similarly vast flat landscape to do it justice. Also, the interior would be a challenge to adapt for modern use.

But one can dream...

Labels: Andrea Palladio, italy, one long summer