Built between 1566 and 1576 for Giovanni Antonio Secco, a physician from Crema who studied Abano's thermal waters, the 16th-century Venetian villa hosting the museum blends Renaissance architecture with an eclectic private art collection. The museum owes its existence to donations made in 1972 and 1980 by Isabella Hübsch, widow of collector Roberto Bassi Rathgeb. Formally inaugurated in December 2018, it displays artworks ranging from Lombard Renaissance painting to 20th-century sculpture.
What to see
The villa features a two-story layout with a three-arched central loggia, twin side towers, and a front garden. Its main floor (piano nobile) is decorated with 16th- and 17th-century frescoes depicting scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Book of Genesis. In 1769, brothers Giovanni Antonio and Francesco Dondi dall'Orologio acquired the property and added 18th-century polychrome stucco decorations, which partially covered the earlier wall paintings.
The permanent collection features paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, furniture, and historical armor. Highlights include Renaissance and 18th- and 19th-century landscape works by artists such as Moretto da Brescia, Giovan Battista Moroni, Giovanni Cariani, Alessandro Magnasco, Fra Galgario, Giacomo Ceruti, and Pietro and Alessandro Longhi. The graphic holdings include pieces by Bernardino Campi, Giandomenico Tiepolo, Giacomo Quarenghi, and Francesco Hayez, along with a portrait by Cesare Tallone. Modern sculpture is represented by Nino Galizzi, notably through a 1930s female bust.
Visiting
Acquired by the Municipality of Abano Terme in 1979, the villa underwent extensive restoration before opening as a museum in December 2018. Prior to this, parts of the Bassi Rathgeb collection were displayed on rotation across various local venues, including a pavilion on Montirone hill from 1996 onward. Visitors today explore the collection set within the decorated rooms of the piano nobile.
Our editors' tip
Pay close attention to Nino Galizzi's 1930s female bust in the sculpture section: it is deliberately positioned in front of a mirror, allowing visitors to inspect the work from 360 degrees.