Villa Gera, Neoclassical villa in Conegliano, Italy
Villa Gera is a neoclassical villa on the Colle di Giano in Conegliano, set just below the castle. Its facade has a wide portico with ten Ionic columns supporting the architrave of the piano nobile; above, a large pediment holds Marco Casagrande's relief group 'Architecture Welcomes the Sister Arts'.
Villa Gera was built from 1827 for Bartolomeo Gera to a design by Giuseppe Jappelli, on the upper slope of Colle di Giano between the castle and the Convento di San Francesco. In 1837 Giovanni De Min was called in to fresco the salon. German troops occupied the villa in 1917, and a fire in 1943 destroyed part of the frescoes.
The villa contains frescoes painted in 1837 by Giovanni De Min depicting scenes from Julius Caesar's life and military victories. These wall paintings shape the interior spaces and connect the building to classical history and learning.
Villa Gera stands on the Colle di Giano just below Conegliano's castle, between the fortress and the upper historic centre where the Convento di San Francesco rises. The walk up the hill is the way to reach it, and from the facade the view takes in the town and the Conegliano plain.
The 1943 fire destroyed part of the frescoes in the first-floor salon, and a dedication beneath the Death of Julius Caesar records the German occupation of 1917. The ceiling painting of Caesar's victory over the Helvetii dominates the cycle of scenes from his life.
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