Villa Lattes, House museum and villa veneta in Istrana, Italy.
Villa Lattes is a Venetian villa in Istrana, built probably between 1712 and 1715 by architect Giorgio Massari for merchant Paolo Tamagnin. A central dominical body rises between two lower curved colonnaded barchesse once used for silkworm breeding and silk weaving; a small church stands along the perimeter wall.
The villa was designed by Venetian architect Giorgio Massari in 1715 and represents the traditional estates where wealthy families balanced city life with rural landholdings. Its layout reflects the practical needs of both residence and agricultural operations that defined countryside living in the Venetian Republic.
The villa is named after Bruno Lattes, a Treviso lawyer from a Jewish family settled there in the early 1800s, who inherited it and devoted his last years to restoring it. He filled the rooms with automata, mechanisms and music boxes bought on his travels, and the carillon collection is among the richest in Europe. He left the villa to the city of Treviso, not to Istrana.
The villa is located in Istrana and welcomes visitors with guided tours through its rooms and collections. Plan to spend time wandering through multiple spaces and the surrounding gardens, allowing yourself to take in the details at your own pace.
Bruno Lattes, the villa's last owner, filled the rooms with automata, mechanisms and music boxes bought on his long journeys; the collection of music boxes is described as among the richest in Europe. He left the villa to the municipality of Treviso rather than to Istrana, and in 2004 Istrana bought it and began restoration in 2013 for a new museum.
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