Villa Almerico Capra, Renaissance villa in Vicenza, Italy
Villa Almerico Capra is a Renaissance estate in Vicenza with a square plan and four identical facades, each featuring porticos and staircases. At its center stands a circular hall topped by a dome that connects all the rooms symmetrically.
A Venetian merchant named Paolo Almerico commissioned architect Andrea Palladio to design the building between 1566 and 1567. Palladio's student Vincenzo Scamozzi completed the work later, making it a milestone in Renaissance architecture.
The frescoes in the four main rooms depict religious scenes and virtues that mattered to the original owner. These works tell of the values that shaped life in this villa.
The building is normally open from March through November, with the interior and exterior areas having different visiting hours. It helps to check current hours before visiting and allow enough time to explore both sections.
The central hall has about twenty windows per floor that direct natural light in ways that create special patterns during the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. This thoughtful use of light shows Palladio's careful study of astronomy.
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