Villa Godi Malinverni dominates the Astico valley with a natural landscape of rare beauty. First villa built by Andrea Palladio in 1542, today houses inside a renowned restaurant, "Il Torchio Antico" and an important museum dedicated to fossils.
Villa Godi Malinverni History
It is the synthesis of the spirit of a genius at its birth, it is the symbol of an era of transition and its legacies. Avoiding solemn tones to define it is really difficult. Villa Godi Malinverni is the first villa built in 1542 by Andrea Palladio, the artist who in the short period of forty years revolutionized the history of architecture, creating an unmistakable style that has been admired to this day.
The main floor of the main building is punctuated by a loggia, from which you can enjoy a splendid view and from nine living room fully furnished with 17th and 18th century Italian furniture and frescoed by great authors, such as Gianbattista Zelotti, Battista Del Moro and Gualtiero Padovano Who will come here to visit it, certainly can not escape the desire to live as a guest in this dream reality. The heirs of the Malinverni, who still reside there, open their home to the public for guided tours, exhibitions of paintings, food and wine festivals, antique markets, auctions, theatrical performances, allegorical parades and reserve some rooms for the restaurant business.
And if in the villa you can breathe the rarefied air of a legendary aristocracy, a completely different atmosphere reigns in the Torchio Antico restaurant, in the adjacent barchessa. A rustic and informal style, with old peasant tools, an ancient carriage and a winepress of 1780 on display, offers the classic dishes of seasonal Vicenza cuisine, re-proposed with variations and touches of fantasy that draw from the recipe books of the Renaissance.
The recognized professionalism of the Chef and his team allows organizing stimulating food and wine evenings. During the summer the service takes place under the Palladian portico, overlooking the immense gardens of the villa and its ancient trees.
The villa also houses the important Fossil Museum, founded in the mid-nineteenth century, where you can admire the longest fossil palm in the world (9 meters). Last monument of the monument is the conference room: fully air-conditioned, has a capacity of 200 seats and is enriched on the walls by a collection of paintings of the Italian nineteenth century and the famous painting by Annigoni, "La Strega".