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An extraordinary example of a Pre-Palladian Venetian villa

This singular home is positioned between the Medieval castle and the Palladian villa. It stands out both for its architecture and for its function.

The castle rooms

  • Atrium

    The castle blueprint has a symmetrical configuration. In the centre, on the ground floor, there is a T-shaped atrium, a large and deep loggia opening to the front with five wide, slightly ogival arches, flanked by two towers. The atrium connects the front courtyard to the large park at the back.

  • The Gallery of Horses

    The large hall on the piano nobile repeats the T-shape of the atrium on the ground floor. Dominated by the large five-light mullioned window, it has a chequered terracotta floor which was discovered last century under a layer of XIX century bitumen. Also of interest is the collection of XVII century furniture including couches and various armchairs, all made in walnut wood. On the walls is an interesting and unusual collection of large equestrian portraits: four paintings of different breeds of horse with riders painted in the XVII century, and eight paintings with horses and grooms; according to Prof. F. Rigon, these painting are to be attributed to Francesco Balante (Thiene, circa 1663-1729), a student of Pietro Liberi.

  • The Hearth Room

    This room is dominated by the circular shaped chimney breast, which is completely painted by G.B. Zelotti (Verona, 1526 - Mantova, 1578) and G.A. Fasolo (Mondello, 1530 - Vicenza, 1572): a long frieze of garlands, putti, fruit, bucrania and grapes decorate the four walls depicting scenes from Tito Livio’s Roman stories. The meaning of this cycle of frescoes is not completely clear, but, in light of new research - dating the frescoes to around 1570 - it could be presumed that Giovanni Porto, heir of his uncle, Francesco, general of the Venetian Republic, wanted to illustrate the juxtaposition between honour and betrayal, celebrating the family’s dedication to Venice - which is also highlighted in the “Venetian” architecture of the villa itself - referencing the ambiguous relationship with Vicenza, traditionally tied to the Imperial party. Framed by a loggia of Corinthian columns are frescoes of the following stories: The Banquet of Cleopatra, The Continence of Scipio, The Meeting of Massinissa and Sophonisba, Mucius Scaevola and King Porsenna.

  • Pool Room

    The pool table, wooden flooring and chandelier are from the end of the XIX century; in cases are displayed terracotta statues from the late 1800s depicting scenes from I Promessi Sposi [The Betrothed], as well as objects like ivory poker chips, and hand-painted playing and tombola cards. This is the beginning of the impressive collection of portraits depicting the Porto, Colleoni and Thiene families from the mid-1500s to the beginning of the XX century.

  • Blue Room

    This room is completely covered in light blue wallpaper, as instructed by Guardino Colleoni following the fashion of the end of the 1800s; it also has all its period furniture and a portrait collection.

  • Red Room

    This room is completely covered in red and gold brocade, as instructed by Guardino Colleoni following the fashion of the end of the 1800s; it also has all its period furniture and a portrait collection.

  • Dining Room

    A welcoming formal dining room, which is still used for gala dinners, including furniture from the XIX century decorated with the Colleoni family coat of arms. On the walls is a collection of period portraits and 12 views of Vicenza painted by Cristoforo Dell’Acqua (1734-1787).

  • Room of Phaethon

    Painted between 1790-95 by Davide Rossi (Thiene 1744-1820) and Gaetano Costalonga (Zané, 24.4.1726 - Thiene, 7.10.1816). The entire surface of the walls is decorated with pilaster and Corinthian column strips with marble niches containing statues of divinities. On the ceiling is painted the fall of Phaethon; the son of Helios (the sun god, Apollo) and Clymene, who wanted to drive his father’s chariot. He lost control of the fiery horses, getting so close to the Earth that he started fires and other disasters. And so, Jove struck him down with a bolt of lightning, sending him into the Eridanos River, where his sisters, the Heliades, cried so much over his death that Jove turned them into poplar trees and their tears into amber.

  • The Stables

    The most lavish and singular space in the entire monumental complex. Built for Scipione Porto between the end of the XVII and beginning of the XVIII centuries based on a design by architect, Francesco Muttoni (Lugano, 1668 - Venice, 1747), the stables have 32 stalls, 16 per side. Inclined stone flumes directed liquids directly to the canal that still runs under the stables today, accessible through hatches. The columns are made in Asiago red marble and have a series of putti made in Vicenza soft stone by Orazio Marinali atelier; the engraved wooden troughs were once richly decorated. The floor’s extraordinary chain motif was created using white and pink stone. Everything was curated up to the tiniest details, making this space magnificent and unique. The stables were certainly also used for horse trading; the horses were trained in the adjoining “cavallerizza”, presumably located - with its training space and necessary equipment (trenches, barriers, bushes) - in the outdoor space which is now home to centuries-old magnolia trees. The stone pillar, used by the trainer to exercise the horses, is the only remaining testament of this use.

  • The Courtyard

    The large courtyard in front of the castle was used in its traditional, agricultural role - a yard with domestic animals, once partially paved for threshing grain, processing meat, shelling legumes etc. - as well as a crossroads, a starting point for reaching the gardens, both the one to the back and the “secret” gardens to the side of the lateral towers. Today it has two rows of gorgeous southern magnolia trees that were planted in the second half of the XIX century.

    Overlooking the courtyard are the service buildings including what was once the grange - home of the “gastaldo” [steward: supervised and allocated assets for the landlord] -, the dovecote - for breeding pigeons -, greenhouses and “barchesse” [a rural service building, typical of Venetian villas, used for working spaces. Barchesse were two storeys high, with porticoes and used for storing farming equipment and supplies, food, and provide sleeping quarters for the farmers] with their porticoes, used as an addition to the landlord’s home and as a depository for carts and equipment, as storage, workshops, stalls and stores. With Andrea Palladio, the barchesse would become more architecturally important as they were connected to the main building and spaces were better defined.

  • Park

    Nowadays, the Castle is in an urban area: the walls separate 12,000m2 of green space from the public roads. In the front, the large courtyard, now with its rows of extraordinary southern magnolias, was once used in its traditional agricultural role. To the back is the park, which has changed over the centuries; its current layout as a “Romantic garden” is the result of a change made in the late Nineteenth century, probably based on a design by Antonio Caregaro Negrin. The entire complex is crossed by the artificial canal built in 1281 by the Thiene community. Water was taken from the canal to irrigate the citrus arbour on the north wall, added in the 1500s. The water was also used for the fish pool which once surrounded the cave built in 1580 by the engineer and cartographer, Cristoforo Sorte. Once outside the castle walls, the vegetable garden and orchard were accessed through underpasses built in the 1500s. Today, the only underpass that can be visited is the one leading to the family chapel; inside is a splendid example of an ice box which can be visited by appointment.

  • Chiesa della Natività di Maria Vergine

    Opposite the entrance tower of the castle, stands the small monumental complex of the church of the NATIVITY OF MARY VIRGIN-also known as the “Little Red Church”-with oratory, sacristy and chaplain's house. Although the church underwent transformations in the 1800s, it is still sufficiently intact from the original design of the late 15th century Inside is the splendid funeral monument of Teresa Colleoni, a work of great quality by Gaetano Matteo Monti executed in 1844 and awarded at the Brera exhibition. On the altar is the altarpiece attributable to Pietro Lombardo (1435 - 1515) divided into three parts - Madonna and Child in the center, St. Bartholomew and St. Francis on either side - with the tympanum where the Eternal Father is depicted surrounded by cherubs. The small church can be visited every third Sunday of the month by guided tour or for groups.by reservation

History of Thiene Castle

1441

In 1441 Francesco Porto Senior received a large inheritance from his father and uncle, most of which was concentrated in Thiene, Marano and Malo - where the Porto family had already acquired land in the 1300s - as a result, around 1450, he commissioned the construction of this building.

1500

Francesco Porto Junior (1472 - 1554, grandson of the founder) added an extension (raising the top floor that was used as a granary), had the gardens redone with a labyrinth, fountains and statues (only document records remain), built the stone staircase and decorated the façades (a Venetian tradition) with horses and medallions depicting portraits of the Roman emperors.

1532

Francesco was nominated as Generale Collaterale by Doge Gritti, a role given to those who have proven their loyalty, with the job of recruiting troops, overseeing their quartering, and paying them.

1541

Francesco Porto Junior is fundamental for the history of the castle: in 1541 he created a trust - as he had no children - designating the first male heir of his brothers’ descendants, as heir to the building and its non-alienable property in Thiene.

1554 — 1580

The Renaissance transformation of the property was continued by his nephew Giovanni (first heir) with the addition of the Palladian well (1554) and the frescoes in the Hearth Room (around 1570), concluded by Giovanni Battista (Giovanni’s only son) who commissioned the citrus arbour and the cave with the fish pool in the garden (1580) from Cristoforo Sorte.

Circa 1700

At the beginning of the XVIII century, the stables were built - based on a design by Francesco Muttoni in partnership with the well-known sculpting atelier Marinali - a rare example of extravagance and rationality.

Circa 1790

At the end of the 1700s the left wing of the ground floor portico where the service areas were located (kitchen, laundry, oven, etc.) was transformed and connected to the grange where the property administration took place: demolishing the dividing walls, two state rooms were built, including one with frescoes depicting “The Fall of Phaethon.”

1800 —1918

Orazio Porto (1729 - 1816) nominated his great-grandson, Orazio Guardino Colleoni as heir, with the obligation of living in Vicenza and adding the Porto surname to his own. The Colleoni-Porto family owned the castle for three generations. After an initial period of disinterest, there followed a vast renovation of the furniture and the garden. Guardino, the last of the family line, died in 1918 with no children, and named his cousin, Antonio Thiene, as his heir.

Oggi

Over five-hundred years - transformation, adjustments, extensions and other changes - have changed the original layout, creating interesting layers of diverse functions, materials, furniture and decor. The Castle, now a symbol for the city of Thiene, is still private property, cared for passionately by its current owners, the Counts of Thiene, who are working in preserving this vast monument, making it accessible for study, and for visitors and enthusiasts.

The Private Archives of Thiene Castle

The Castle is home to an important historical archive. In 2022, the Associazione Castello di Thiene ETS was created in order to preserve, share, and protect the Castle’s archives, restricted since 1972 and declared an item of regional interest in 2006 due to its considerable collection of parchments and papers.

Guided tours for the public can be arranged with the archivist.

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Architecture

The central blueprint of the three-storey castle is T-shaped. The main body has a deep loggia, open to the front with five slightly ogival arches, flanked by two towers; on the first floor is a Gothic five-light mullioned window, a rare example for mainland Veneto.

There are no documents to attribute a creator: the evident formal references to Venetian architecture (chimneys, capitals, trilobed windows and stone decorations) could indicate the work of Domenico da Venezia (“engineer” for the Republic of Venice who worked between 1448 and 1453 on the Duomo di Vicenza and Palazzo della Ragione).

It is now known as a Castle - possibly because of its Ghibelline crenellations, or because it was built on the remains of a Medieval castle - but in early documents it was referenced as a “palazzo”; certainly the term “villa” is most appropriate as the leading element is that of a farm, and it is also a forerunner for Palladio’s concept of a villa. In a dominating position compared to the large courtyard - surrounded by walls along the public road with large doors shaped like crenellated towers - it was built with the service areas, including the grange (home of the “gastaldo” [steward: supervised and allocated assets for the landlord]), the dovecote, the greenhouses and the “barchesse” [storerooms and working areas a rural service building, typical of Venetian villas, used for working spaces. Barchesse were two storeys high, with porticoes and used for storing farming equipment and supplies, food, and provide sleeping quarters for the farmers], complete with porticoes facing the courtyard.

There are no longer traces of any defences, but the use of the courtyard in its traditional, agricultural role is evident - a yard with domestic animals, once partially paved for threshing grain, processing meat, shelling legumes etc. - as well as a crossroads, a starting point for reaching the gardens, both the one to the back and the “secret” gardens to the side of the lateral towers. Access to nearby land that was part of the property but separated by the public road, was by underpass.

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