Catajo Castle
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Castello del Catajo is a castle complex near the city of Battaglia Terme in the province of Padua .
history
The complex, which was initially just a simple country house, was expanded by Pio Enea I. Obizzi from 1570 onwards . The Obizzi family originally came from Burgundy and came to Italy with Henry II , where they eventually settled in the territory of the Republic of Venice . Pio Enea degli Obizzi (from whom the name " howitzer " is supposedly derived) was a condottiere in the service of the Republic of Venice. He decided to build a palace here, which corresponded to the fame of the family. The order was given to the architect Andrea Da Valle , who completed the construction between 1570 and 1578. Today the building appears as a mixture of a castle and a stately villa.
In 1803 the Obizzi family died out and the building became the property of the Archdukes of Modena. The upper part of the building was built under Francis IV of Modena . After the death of the childless Franz V of Modena , the Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand inherited all of his property . The castle housed a large collection of musical instruments, weapons and paintings from the possession of the Obizzi, which were brought to Vienna and Konopischt . During the First World War the castle became the property of the last Austrian emperor I. Karl over. After the war, the building was confiscated by the Italian state as a war reparation and sold in 1926 to the Dalla Francesca family, who still own it today.
description
The entrance, which is designed in the manner of an ancient triumphal arch , leads to a courtyard that was used for theatrical performances and tournaments. Next to the entrance is a baroque elephant fountain. The piano nobile was decorated with frescoes by Giambattista Zelotti , a student of Paolo Veronese around 1570, which glorify the deeds of the Obizzi family, from the ancestor Obicio I to Pio Enea I. Battles, naval battles, scenes from the Crusades, important family events, the family tree of the Obizzi family and allegory representations are depicted on the walls.
literature
- Irma B. Jaffe and Gernando Colombardo: Zelotti's Epic Frescoes at Cataio. The Obizzi Saga . Fordham University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8232-2742-6
Web links
- Site of the Castellos del Catajo
- Susanne Schaber: Morning gift with three hundred and fifty rooms - FAZ, January 29, 2009
Coordinates: 45 ° 17 ′ 51 ″ N , 11 ° 47 ′ 14.9 ″ E