Amongst Churches, capitei and some weird combinations …still in Italy (PART THREE)

{On a mission}: Casual walks around the area leads to some history lessons, here last Sunday on a sunny day this is what I’ve spotted.

Villa Perusini and Saint Francis’ Oratory (18th century) :The three storey Villa was originally sorrounded by gardens,pools and fountains, but its splendor decayed in time. Napoleone Bonaparte lived here in 1801.

Saint Francis’ Oratory was built before 1752 as part of the Villa. It was possible to reach it from the higher storeys of the villa by means of a sheltered passage-way. The oratory has an octagonal plan and two little towers at the two sides of the front.

Its original structure was the work of a Venetian architect called Giorgio Massari.

 

The Temple, Antonio Canova’s gift to the people of his homeland, Possagno, stands gloriously on the  top of the hill. Its white marble creates quite a contrast with the green background of  the sorrounding mountains.

A capiteo [in Venetian dialect ] also (tabernacle or votive niche) is a votive  religious (Christian) architecture, who comes from a popular cult passed over the centuries. Normally, a capitello  is built as an ex voto for a narrow escape, as a famine or a plague, but also as an aggregation of the Christian community, at which it can unite in prayer (especially for the recitation of the rosary).

The artist’s house… it is easy to see why an artist would want to be eccentric, in a region sorrounded by religious images and artefact, why not add a personal touch if art pieces  like these are not hard to find … 

 

Photography: Me for Mandarine d’Italie