What to see · Mira

More places of interest

• Villa Mocenigo

  Villa Mocenigo is a Venetian villa of the Riviera del Brenta, on the right bank of the Naviglio at Oriago di Mira. It was built in the eighteenth century by the Mocenigo, who had large estates along the Riviera, in the territory of what was then the municipality of Gambarare: it stood near the Piazza del Mercato, seat of the Venetian Provveditore of the Gambarare, in a strategic position that was easy to reach from Venice by water. More recently it passed to the De Luigi and the Zara families; today it belongs to the municipality of Mira, and from 1991 to 2018 it housed the International Centre of Studies on the Tourist Economy of Ca' Foscari University.

  What to see

  The building has only two floors but fifteen bays of windows: it spreads horizontally, and the string courses underline this. The main front faces north-west, towards the Naviglio. The central section projects slightly and is crowned by a segmental pediment, with three vases and the Mocenigo coat of arms; the round-arched portal is reached by a short flight of steps and is flanked by two arched windows.

  The south-east front, similar in design, looks onto the park, now much reduced. Attached to the main house is a small barchessa, added later.

  Visiting

  The interior keeps remains of stucco and frescoes, the latter attributed to Giandomenico Tiepolo. Access should be checked with the municipality of Mira.

  Our editors' tip

  A trace of the Mocenigo can also be seen at Gambarare: in 1712 the family gave the parish the two porphyry columns that adorn the high altar of the duomo of San Giovanni Battista.

• Villa Valier

  Villa Valier, later Bembo, known as «La Chitarra», is a Venetian villa in Mira, on the right bank of the Naviglio del Brenta. It was built in the sixteenth century for the Valier family, and the views by Volkamer and Costa show that it was far more lavish than today: the main front reached as far as the bank, to allow arrival by boat, and was marked by four rusticated pilasters of the giant order. Between painted balustrades frescoed figures looked out, attributed to Giambattista Zelotti.

  What to see

  Today's front, on three levels, is modest and keeps nothing of the original except its orientation towards the Naviglio: rectangular openings on five axes, a portal with a cornice on stone brackets and, above it, a French window with a small balcony and a little triangular pediment. At the back is the barchessa, the farm wing, with a portico of nine round arches on masonry pillars; on the short side, towards the road, a carriage arch is framed by two pilasters and a triangular pediment.

  Also opening onto the road is the oratory, built perhaps at the end of the seventeenth century: the entrance is framed by two Ionic pilasters with a dentilled pediment, and in the centre of the front is a large semicircular window.

  Visiting

  At the end of the nineteenth century the villa was bought by the Rocca family and more recently it passed to the Corò family, who restored it. It is private property: it is seen from outside, and any opening should be checked.

  Our editors' tip

  The nickname comes from a fresco that is no longer here. In 1825 the guardian of the owners asked the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice for permission to detach the figures from the front; the works were handed over to the Accademia on 22 July 1827 and are still kept there. One shows a young woman with an old man, the other two girls at a window, one of whom is playing the guitar.

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