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Villa Brunesca
was built by the Sponza ship-owners in about
1845.
It has three floors, a parK some ' barchesse'
(stable buildings), a Venetian well ant three
recently restored frescoes on its faÇade.
Four stone pillars, probably imported from
the Orient, support the arches of the former
stables.
The villa is typically Venetian in style,
noticeable in the design of its faÇade,
its planimetric scheme and the decoration
of the main front .
Its pattern of holes, central fillet at the
entrance, first floor balcony, simple window
frames and Istria stone window ledges are
all characteristic of a type of villa that
was popular before the era of Palladian reform
and that was widespread during the entire
Venetian rule. |
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The layout of the villa is that
of the typical lagoon villa, with a central
hall leading to rooms at the sides of the
stairs.
Certain aspects of the exterior decoration
recall the Venetian tradition, blending well
with the inland Gothic tradition.
The roofline is interrupted by a garret with
a curved gable, an element that allows us
to date the building as 17th or 18th century.
Its two lateral wings might have been added
later and this brings to mind the reproduction
of a map in the land register of the noblewoman
Elisabetta Cornaro, dated 1785, where the
villa is shown with only one smaller wing
on the right.
Alternatively, this might indicate that the
villa was built for leisure pursuits, otherwise
this late 18th century reproduction would
also show othe buildings used for farming
purposes built around the villa itself.
The buildings that stand close to the villa
today also confirm this as they were built
later (silk cocoon house). This does not mean
that Villa Mason never had a core for farming
activities but perhaps these were not of any
considerable importance before the 19th century.
Gaetano Mason purchased this property in 1954
and made it into an important production centre
for his farm and wine cellar, thus expanding
the wine bottling and selling activities that
had already started back in 1922. |
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