Villa Giovannina, Renaissance Revival villa in Villorba, Italy.
Villa Giovannina is a neorenaissance villa at the southeast corner of the Pontebbana, via Marconi and via della Libertà in Villorba, facing the 19th-century Villa Zoppetti. Its first-floor salon is decorated with paintings and frescoes. A neo-gothic barchessa, once stables and remises, stands beside it with a small deconsecrated chapel on the east side; between the west-side bifore is carved "L. Zabeo Arch. eresse."
Villa Giovannina was commissioned in 1881 by Giovanni Uccelli and his wife Giovanna Minto, after whom it is named, and designed by architect Luigi Zabeo. It served mainly as a holiday home under various owners, including the Olivotti family, who promoted a first restoration in 1928. The Municipality of Villorba acquired it in 2006 and entrusted restoration and extension to architect Dario Frosi with Mariapia Bellis, under the Superintendency for Architectural and Environmental Heritage of Eastern Veneto.
The villa's name honours Giovanna Minto (1839-1912), wife of the Triestine nobleman Giovanni Uccelli, who commissioned it in 1881. The adjoining neo-Gothic barchessa, once stables and coach houses, holds a small deconsecrated chapel on its east side that is now used for weddings. Since 15 December 2018 the barchessa's first floor has housed the municipal library, with about 21,000 volumes.
The villa stands at the southeast corner of the busy junction of Pontebbana, via Marconi and via della Libertà, opposite the 19th-century Villa Zoppetti. The municipal offices occupy part of the building, and the former barchessa holds the town library, a multipurpose hall for exhibitions and events, and a bistrot. The deconsecrated chapel on the east side is used for weddings, so it may be closed to casual visitors.
The neo-Gothic barchessa, once stables and coach houses, carries the inscription "L. Zabeo Arch. eresse." between the windows of its west side, naming the architect who built it. Its small east chapel is deconsecrated and now used for weddings. Since 15 December 2018 the barchessa's first floor holds the municipal library with about 21,000 volumes.
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