Villa Fogazzaro-Roi-Colbachini
In the second half of the 15th century, Villa Fogazzaro-Roi-Colbachini was the country residence of the noble Chiericati family of Vicenza. Giovanni Antonio, the grandfather of the Vicenza writer Antonio Fogazzaro, bought the Villa in the early 19th century. In 1846, Giovanni Antonio Fogazzaro commissioned Vicenza architect Antonio Caregaro Negrin to expand and renovate the Villa. An oratory was also constructed next to the residence, which today houses a precious altarpiece by Vicenza painter Giovanni Busato.
The Villa became the home of the uncles of writer Antonio Fogazzaro, Don Giuseppe and Luigi. Luigi Fogazzaro was the first Mayor of Montegalda after the Unification of Italy. While Don Giuseppe Fogazzaro, a great lover of botany, initiated several works to enlarge the park of Villa Fogazzaro. The park now boasts a variety of rare exotic plants, such as the tassodi, calocedro and sofora from Japan.
The park of Villa Fogazzaro-Roi-Colbachini is a green oasis that harmoniously unites the geometric elements of the Italian garden with the more natural ones of the English park, perfectly placed in the rolling hills of Montegalda. On Monte Roccolo, located inside the property, there is the "bird snare" with a small hunting tower and the monument to Luigi Fogazzaro, both still well preserved.
Antonio Fogazzaro also had the "specola" constructed, an astronomical observatory in Art Nouveau style for his son Mariano.
The Vicenza writer loved staying in Montegalda with his family during the grape harvest. Some pages of his novel "Little Modern World" are set right in Montegalda.
Today, the Villa is privately owned by the Colbachini family. The building was recently was restored and one wing houses the Veneto Bell Museum. The museum contains interesting and rare examples of bells dating from the year 1000 until today and a static foundry that illustrates the traditional method of casting bells.
