The Italian Association for Venetian Villas (AVV), presided over by Isabella Collalto de Croÿ, with the collaboration and support of the Regional Institute for the Venetian Villas (IRVV), presided over by Prof. Amerigo Restucci, are pleased to announce the second edition of Giornata delle Ville Venete (Venetian Villas Weekend), to be held on 21 and 22 October 2023.
The Weekend, which last year welcomed over 12,000 visitors, will this year be adding some interesting additional initiatives to the last edition’s format (experiential exploration of the Venetian Villas).

Spread between the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a total of 70 villas will participate during the weekend of 21 and 22 October, with a total of over 120 experiences, grouped into their different themes: Heritage (a visit to cultural heritage); Green (outdoor activities related to the theme of sustainability); Family (experiences designed with families in mind); Wine and Food (tastings); Dream (overnight stays). This year, the themes will be expanded to include GenZ, featuring initiatives dedicated to Generation Z visitors, and a macro-thematic initiative that will focus on wellness, entitled Well-being, which will also be the theme of the conference being held on 21 October. The Conference, which will be open to the public by prior reservation, is entitled “The Venetian Villas at the centre of well-being – [Re]connecting to the future”, and will be held in the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Bona in Vidor, in the Province of Treviso.

The initiatives introduced this year support the Weekend’s central mission by anchoring it to its over-arching theme: transforming the Venetian Villas from mere monuments, which has been the case until recently, and elevating them once more to living institutions, places of action, production centers that can provide significant economic and social benefits. An asset around which to foster community. An apparatus, or to use Palladio’s word, a fabrica (“production centre”) – a generator of beauty (some Venetian Villas are already UNESCO World Heritage Sites, architecture designed by such illustrious architects as Palladio and Scamozzi and fresco cycles by masters such as Tiepolo or Veronese), and of course their essential role for protecting the landscape and biodiversity.
The Venetian Villas embody values of contemporary relevance: slow living, well-being, green issues, sustainability, local tourism, locally-sourced high-quality food and wine, exclusive overnight stays, and meetings with the owners – some of whom are direct heirs of the noble patricians who originally commissioned the building of their Venetian palazzi on the mainland. These are just a few of the main vocational strengths of the Villas which were built at the time of the Venetian Republic, and whose strategic mission today is focussed on environmental, economic and social policies.

Well-being gives us the opportunity to consider the Venetian Villas as places to practice yoga, or take meditative walks, but also the possibility to just spend time immersed in a rejuvenating silence, finally disconnected from the many electronic devices that now plague our lives or far from confusion of the city.
Gen Z places emphasis on a theme that has always been very dear to the Venetian Villas: firstly the digital transition, which is helping to impart knowledge about the history and legacy of these locations in a simple and effective way. Secondly, it serves to shine a spotlight in the theme of generational transition. The owners of the Venetian Villas are today being forced to rethink and adjust their approach to these assets. The conference on 21 October will shed light on such issues through the stories of the Villa’s owners, including Giulio Da Sacco (Santa Bona Abbey) and Florian Stepski Doliwa, Vice President of the AVV and owner of Villa Rechsteiner. This year, as well as having the site in English, one of the major new initiatives to make the Weekend attractive to both a national and international public is Itineraries, a selection of routes that take in several Villas.
Organized by geographical destinations, these will allow tourists to group and visit several Villas, giving them greater opportunity to explore our local area.
All Villas participating in the project, organized by Region and Province, as well as all the experiences offered, can be booked on the site www.giornatavillevenete.it