Palladian Days: Finding a New Life in a Venetian Country House

Hardcover - 21 June, 2005 - Knopf
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Sally Gable and Carl I Gable
ISBN: 1400043379

Buy this book from Amazon.com

List Price: ~~$23.95~~
Amazon.com Price: $15.57
You Save: $8.38

Other books you may find interesting

Reviews by readers

Julia Rush compliments the Gables and enjoyed the book

Review of "Palladian Days" by Julia Rush.
As former owners of the Villa Cornaro - which Sally and Carl write about so enthusiastically, interestingly, and in detail in their new book "Palladian Days" concerning among other things, the problems which arose during their ownership, we are pleased to see how well they have managed.. They have handled problems well (roof and back balcony and scorpions, etc.) and we chose them among the several prospective buyers because we knew that they would be able to handle any emergency that arose and that they would fit into the town and had the necessary funds and would obtain the knowledge necessary to do maintenance and repairs properly. They have been more perfect than we could expect - and in the sixteen years (since 1989) that they have owned the Villa they have maintained it perfectly, done repairs and restorations as needed, opened the Villa to the public, and all of the town loves them and appreciates what they do and their friendly attitude. Sally took the trouble to learn Italian immediately, and this got her off to a good start. Carl has, I believe, lectured on the Villa Cornaro (as Richard had also done for twenty years while he owned it) and Palladio and the influence of the great architect, and they have a marvelous web page - with an amazing amount of history of the Villa including pictures, and other major Villas by Palladio and the Cornaro family. Carl has also written a very good book on Murano Glass. Sally and Carl's research on the Cornaro family, the Villa Cornaro and Palladio and other villas and beautiful Venice (which comes out in the book as well as the web pages) amazes me and we are quite proud of them for it.
My husband, Richard Rush, purchased the Villa Cornaro from the Italian government (L'Ente per le Ville Venete) in 1969, after a year of negotiation and with letters of recommendation from several of our friends, "The Richest American", the late J. Paul Getty, who was restoring a villa near Rome, and Richard's friend, the Secretary of Commerce, C. R. Smith, and Count Giorgio Geddes de Filcaia, whose family owned a 250 room palace near Florence and who was a friend of Richard's for some years because of his interest in automobiles - especially Ferrari. He translated our proposal, and it was perhaps because of him we became interested in living in Italy, although we had been collecting Italian art and antiques for a number of years, had written in the field and my favorite city is Venice..
The Villa which had been used as a school for young children and was purchased by the Italian government(L'Ente Per Le Ville Venete) to keep it from further damage, was in need of restoration - of all new electric wiring, all new plumbing, new baths, new kitchen equipment, and the glass in the leaded glass windows was broken, the metalwork on gates needed restoration, the gardens were over-run, there were posters pasted on the front garden wall, there was a door put where it shouldn't be and no doors where there should be on porches and stairways.
There was much to be done and there was a great deal of dust and dirt. There was also no furniture or lighting fixtures. We were able, fortunately, to restore the Villa and bring it back to its former beauty over a period of twenty years and to furnish it with fine Italian antiques, chairs, tables, armadios, etc.,including some beautiful Venetian chandeliers, and a painting of Saint Anthony of Padua. Some fine antique pieces were stolen (in four break-ins) but we put in less valuable but suitable antiques and an alarm system - and kept adding.
Living in the villa was to me a great and joyful experience and I can relive many things as I read Sally's new book ...from her visits to the nearby towns, and Florence and Rome, to the Saturday market, to each room of the Villa and every store, shop, and family on Via Roma.
I highly recommend the book for those who love Venice and Italy and Palladio, and would like to experience this along with Sally and Carl. Sally even gets great recipes from dear friends of mine (now hers) and shares them with her readers. As she notes in the book, I am not a great cook, but Richard and I loved being invited to the homes of our neighbors and enjoying Silvana Miolo's cooking at the little Caffe Palladio across the street from the Villa. When we entertained at the Villa, Silvana and her family would serve the dinner (or party dishes when we had a reception,) in the great hall or dining room of the Villa.
When we returned to Piombino Dese for the wedding of Wilma Scquizzato and Paolo Melchiori (Wilma is the daughter of our dear friends, Memi and Francesca Scquizzato), Sally Gable met us, with Francesca Scquizzato (whose granddaughter is named for me) and Maria Rosa Pancolini, (whose son is named for Richard), at the Venice airport and invited us to stay at the Villa. Sally gave us a prosecco party, and asked Silvana to prepare a dinner for us which was served in the beautiful formal dining room with the Noah frescoes. The Villa looked beautiful. The antiques were all there - and most were as we had placed them - and she had created a new kitchen which is magnificent (mine had been very simple) and also she was able to purchase Oriental carpets for the Villa - which are very suitable. She also created a family room upstairs, with comfortable furniture, and added a tub to the downstairs bath, which I wish we had thought of. We were distressed to hear of the trouble with scorpions, and the later roof problems and porch problem as we thought everything was perfect, but we knew that the Gables would be able to handle whatever emergency arose - and they did! They also have children who love the Villa.
Do enjoy the book, "Palladian Days" and relive the life in a Palladian villa that she and Carl (and Richard and I) have lived and enjoyed. It is magical. Not a day goes by that I don't think of the Villa and the town and Italy.
And do visit the Villa yourself if you are in Venice - or Padua or en route to Bassano - as it is not far away and is open on Saturday afternoons, May - September, or by appointment to a group of ten or more throughout the year. Or, perhaps, you visited a number of years ago when we were there.
Auguri e saluti!

Great book! Wonderful house!

It takes a lot of determination to do what the Gables (and the Rushes before them) did. They bought not just any villa in Italy, but one of the supreme villas by one of the most noted Renaissance architects. Owning this house becomes a career and the Gables shoulder it with love. The book has many b & w photos, but for a better look, Google "Palladio" (boglewood should appear in the top links) for color photos which are more striking. This site, by the Gable's son, has even more info on Palladio and his villas.

Each morning it takes 30 minutes to open the 44 heavy shutters and another 30 to bolt them at night. The Gables hire someone who can make the rounds in 20 minutes. Other needs of the house: a working kitchen, leaks in the roof and moisture in the floor, rewiring (I think it took 3 weeks), scorpion irradication (which is minimized in text but took 3 years), a conversion from septic to city sewage similary take time and outside help.

While two authors are credited, it is clearly Sally's voice. The book is divided into short essays, each devoted to a topic. Many of them stand on their own, and could be published elsewhere for other purposes. For instance, the visit to the archives, clearly makes readers appreciate the research that goes into historical writing. Other vignettes describe friends, Venetian glass, the Cornaros, the frescoes, other Palladio villas at a visit from Bob Vila etc.

We learn that actual costs are higher or lower than estimates or expectations but there are no stated amounts. Whatever the costs, it's clear, to embark on such a project you need devotion, flexibility and deep pockets.

This is a delightful book. If you are not interested in Palladian architecture when you start it, you will be when you're done.

" With Time and Money ( almost ) All is Possible"...

Always a sucker for books about Americans who adapt to other cultures, this book was a disappointment.

Although the educational aspects of Palladian design was interesting, the author's voice struck me as cold, condescending and lacking wit or warmth. The book was dry. I would have appreciated better, larger, clearer photography.

The villa is a breathtaking property with such a rich history. The author does respect, honor and appreciate her home- that much is evident.

This 14,000 square foot Venetian "country house" certainly goes beyond my wildest imaginings of a "second home". I would have loved to have read more of the Gables' hands-on renovations, rather than hired hands. I would have relished reading about Ms Gables' thoughts and as she soaked in the view from each window at dusk- closing those many, many shutters. Instead, she hired someone to do that for her.

If "Palladian Days" spurs your interest into further reading and research- well, then it is worth it's price. My memories won't be of the Gables or their story- but will lie with the thoughts of Palladio's gifts to the world.

Top of page