Description of the attraction
Villa Forni Cerato in Montecchio Precalcino in the province of Vicenza was probably designed by Andrea Palladio for Girolamo Forni, a wealthy merchant who supplied building materials for many of the architect's projects. Despite the fact that the building of the villa is somewhat different from other creations of Palladio, it is nevertheless attributed to this architect on the basis of stylistic commonality.
Villa Forni Cerato was built in the 1540s on the site of another building that was not demolished but modified. The double name - Forni Cerato - was given to her in 1610, when, according to the will of Girolamo Forni, the building became the property of Giuseppe, Girolamo and Baldisser Cerato.
The dominant feature of the front facade of the villa is the loggia. As in Villa Godi, here a flight of stairs goes to the very base of the building and leads to a loggia with Palladian windows - Serliana, which stretches along the entire width of the loggia. The central axis is sharper here than at Villa Godi, partly due to the location of the windows. But this is not only why Villa Forni Cerato is considered a certain breakthrough in the work of Palladio - it is here that the boundaries between the floors clearly appear on the facade for the first time. There are three floors in total - a basement, a drunken nobile and a mezzanine. The double sill runs along the Serliana and organically fits the loggia into the structure of the entire building. In addition, it serves as the upper and lower extremity of two balustrades, which are placed between the outer pilasters of the Serliana.
The building of Villa Forni Cerato has not undergone significant changes, with the exception of its rear, which once also had a row of Palladian windows, later replaced by a balcony. However, the outline of this Serliana is still visible today. The reliefs on the façade, removed in 1924, are reminiscent of the copper engraving by Marco Moro, but they were probably not part of the original building. The current reliefs depicting river gods are copies of the 20th century. The same applies to the family crests on the pediment. Today, the only authentic sculptural decoration is the mask over the circular arch, attributed to Alessandro Vittoria.
Despite the fact that Villa Forni Cerato is in poor condition, since 1996 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
