Villa Biaggini-Ivancich (formerly Villa Mocenigo) on the banks of the river Tagliamento in San Michele Al Tagliamento (Verona) was ruined by WWII bombing and an earthquake in 1976.
Immersed in the majestic vegetation of an ancient park near a river port on the Tagliamento, the villa was built in the late 16th century for the noble Venetian Mocenigo family. In 1870 it was bought by Vincenzo Biaggini of Padua who revolutionized the agricultural techniques in use with pioneering new systems. Later, the villa passed to the present-day owners, the Ivancich family of diplomats and landowners resident in Venice, who made it a cultural centre hosting internationally famed writers including Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway, who wrote about the river and was inspired by time spent with Adriana Ivancich.
The residence was also known as the “red palace” because of its colour, later modified when white marble was added. The villa had three storeys on a quadrangular layout and was taller than the grandiose barchesse built in the 1600s attributed to architect Baldassare Longhena. Despite their ruined state, the symmetrical barchesse, built in the 17thcentury as wings to provide perspective and frame the villa, are still majestic today. The two facades feature seven arches on rectangular pilasters, strengthened by Tuscan-Doric semi-columns supporting a beam above. Elegant elliptical windows at each arch are decorated with ledges featuring the grotesque heads of animals.
The villa’s large ancient park contains numerous varieties of plant, in addition to eight statues in Istrian stone representing the four seasons and the four virtues.
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