Guided tours to Villa Selvatico

With this mini video showing the landscape of which you can enjoy the spectacular seventeenth-century villa inspired by Palladian architecture, we want to introduce you to the precious possibility that offers Affresco euganean to visit artistic beauties such as this, just 11 km from AbanoRitz.

The villa

Villa Selvatico, white and majestic, can be admired along the Padua-Monselice highway and dominates the territory of Battaglia Terme from the top of the Sant’Elena hill, also known as the “hill of the Stufa” due to the presence of an ancient sudoriferous cave, frequented from the high Middle Ages to treat diseases and alleviate joint pains thanks to the heat and the properties of the thermal waters that flowed spontaneously here. Its construction dates back to the late sixteenth century, when the noble family Selvatico (former owner of the hill and surrounding land) decided to build a sumptuous palace in a panoramic and dominant position.

The plan is square with crenellated angular turrets and in the middle a singular dome covered with lead. The four facades are enriched by double pediments with overlapping Doric and Ionic orders, crowned with tympanums; on the east side, facing the Battaglia canal, there is a monumental staircase that allowed direct access to the villa to those arriving by boat from Padua and Venice. The interiors of the villa are richly frescoed with the cycle of frescoes made in 1650 by Luca Ferrari da Reggio. Another beautiful painting is the Gloria dei Selvatico by Alessandro Varotari, known as Padovanino (1588-1648). The park that surrounds it was designed by the architect Jappelli whose project of conversion of the Italian garden into a romantic park, made it possible to reorganize without upsetting the previous baroque garden and, exploiting the waters of the three thermal lakes, made build a fish pond and groves.

The villa represents a unique stylistic example that anticipates the canons of the Venetian Baroque, with original medieval and oriental architectural fusion.
Affresco euganeo organizes cultural itineraries to discover the city of Padua and the nearby Euganean Hills and the marvelous villa has been included in the planning of guided tours: a rather rare opportunity as this artistic heritage can not always be visited.

Information

Guided tour lasting one and a half hours. Reservations required at affrescoeuganeo@gmail.com
For more info and for special requests: +39 3428587830
Fee 14 euros adults, 12 euros children 6/12 years
Meeting 5/10 minutes before the entrance gate (viale S.Elena, Battaglia Terme, Padua)

AbanoRitz Spa Wellfeeling Resort Italy – Abano Terme, Padova – Via Monteortone, 19
Tel. +39 0498633100 – Direct booking +39 0498633444 / 5
E-mail: abanoritz@abanoritz.it