Villa Saraceno

at Finale of Agugliaro

Saraceno Villa Recently turned to its original beauty after a a well-done restoration, it is a classical example of farm-villa, conceived like fulcrum of the agricultural attivity. Until '400, in fact, the Saraceno, ancient Roman family, took possession of the countries of Finale, near Agugliaro, a territory that in '600 took advantage of the reclamations done by the Magistratura dei beni inculti: this multiplied its productive output. The villa, juvenile opera of Palladio and so datable around 1545, strikes for the absolute purity of the forms, for the clear volumetric design. The façade is opened by three fling arcs, with simple decorations as the windows' and timpano's frames. This frugality almost bare, also if pure and elegant, probably mirrors the concrete spirit, the pragmatism of the Saraceno. In advance of a century respect to the more conspicuous flow of noble toward the country, they settled in Agugliaro investing major money in the estates' acquisition. Palladio shall accentuate in its "Quattro Libri dell'Architettura" the functional character of Saraceno's villa, writing about "Granaro il quale occupa tutto il corpo della casa" and about "luoghi all'uso di Villa necessarii" (that was incomplete). It's opportune to notice that between the few inside frescoes emerges the Allegory of the Wealth, maybe a propitiatory image, explicit reference to the faith of Venetian noble in landed investments. Obeying to the criterions of utility and functionality, Palladio built one of his more clear and pregnant creations, demonstrating that the real poetry doesn't originate from rich decorations but from the extreme simplicity of the language, from the harmonious accord that links an architecture to the landscape.

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