Since I was little I have always had a cultivated passion for furniture. Since my father is an architect, I think he has passed on his passion for space and a taste for the interior. As a child, I happened to pass by this enigmatic eighteenth-century villa and people used to say that my fascination in it was easy to see at a young age, saying that it would play a part in my university career.

Besides that, I am fascinated by the story that accompanies it, through various research I've done at the Marciana Library in Venice, in consultation with the Napoleonic land registry, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I have always wondered about it being so different from all the other houses in Venice, built on two levels in the shape of a horseshoe with a frieze (a band of sculpted or painted decoration) and has a flair of Palladian architecture about it (A building style influenced by the work of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio). Not being a famous and important historical building, it was always very difficult to find information on it and to discover its history. Through some papers and documents required within acts of property, I found it to be a home of the family of Tiepolo. With more research I was able to find an old text that seems to really talk about the house, describing it in a different era, perhaps as an old casino, meeting place of nobility, and was used for parties and leisure. In fact, one of the most beautiful aspects of the villa is the in the basemen, which, at the time, the water flowed into and where the nobles arrived with gondolas. 

And, they were right. This week I graduated from university. In addition to the great satisfaction of completing my studies, the most beautiful this for me was seeing all of my family in Rome. The funniest thing was seeing how my grandmother reacted to the reality of Rome and how different it was from hers. She accustomed to living the Venetian life, where there are no machines or trams and subways. It was a bit like taking ‘Venice in the Sky’ in to the world of ‘The New Dolce Vita’ and seeing them ‘playing’ together and how the two worlds mix.

Also, there were my amazing friends, all gathered together, too, helping my family celebrate this special day. I was welcomed by one surprise after another.

Little did I think that I would be writing these thoughts down, relaxing next to the pool, of a castle in Umbria, where my friends surprised me with an unforgettable celebration.

Yesterday, for me, was the end of a cycle, a part of my life, and I can finally look forward to the Summer ahead. Who knows what new experiences await me, now.

Written by Enrico Costantini

Twitter

Photography by Enrico Costantini

 and Andrea Ravieli and his Twitter