Leaving Vicenza and following the Pasubio state road, one reaches the village of Motta di Costabissara, where the historic Villa Donà stands. Recently restored through the architectural project of RigonSimonetti, the villa reveals a careful reconstruction of its stratified history. The intervention prepares the complex to accommodate new spaces for work and gathering, renewing its relationship with the surrounding landscape.
The head of the barchessa — the monumental wing connecting the villa to the road — bears the marks of multiple transformations over the centuries, from eighteenth-century modifications to nineteenth-century alterations. The restoration renders this palimpsest legible, staging an intense dialogue between the various layers of time. Of the three arches along this façade, the central one draws attention for the presence of a wooden box-like volume suspended within the glass opening. This insertion serves as a visual and spatial device, establishing a direct relationship between the public garden that borders the road and the interior of the barchessa, signalling a living and accessible space within.
To its right, behind the gate, a portico unfolds, supported by Tuscan-style stone columns from the eighteenth century. Beneath the generous roof, a timber framework slightly recessed from the column line structures the portico on two levels. A sequence of slender iron members runs parallel to, but detached from, the stone colonnade, supporting the upper floor — once directly resting on the columns — thereby resolving a structurally and compositionally incoherent system.
This portion of the building represents one of the most significant operations within the restoration. Like the rest of the complex, it had been severely compromised after years of abandonment. In RigonSimonetti’s project, the ground-floor loggia is now a multifunctional hall for events and conferences, defined on three sides by the wooden and glass façade, and on the fourth by the barchessa’s central spine wall. The latter, stripped of unrecoverable plaster, reveals ancient timber structures embedded within the masonry, now treated with a lime-based brushed finish.
Adjacent to it, the café-restaurant — marked by a double-height volume that exposes the raw texture of the original masonry — forms the social heart of the regenerated complex. It faces the more urban side of the site, reactivating the relationship between the villa and the nearby settlement, while the villa itself regains a residential function, with guest rooms on the upper floors. The space develops around a large arch that visually connects the interior with the street.
The main window frame, made of laminated and plywood okoumè wood, defines the character of all custom furnishings: the counter, benches, and a service block housing restrooms, changing rooms, and kitchen. This volume is detached from the historic perimeter walls, declaring its nature as an autonomous insertion. A niche at one end hosts a bench that mirrors, across the space, the built-in seat within the large front window. The furnishings are conceived in continuity with the architectural framework: wooden benches — interrupted only by the entrance — are rejoined by a wooden vestibule linking the two portions, its backrest embedded in walls finished with rough lime plaster. Above it, a fixed glass pane is installed within the wall thickness, once again liberating the original arch, which now assumes the ironic dignity of an architectural relic.
On the upper floor, reached by a new staircase housed in the former caretaker’s dwelling, are located the coworking and office spaces. The staircase, made of concrete cast in MDF formwork scaled to the step module, is finished with Vicenza grey stone treads that reveal the structure beneath. A stainless-steel handrail contrasts with the rough, lime-washed masonry enclosure, where the historical materiality remains visible.
On the upper floor, where the coworking and office spaces are located, access is provided via a new staircase housed within a volume formerly used as the caretaker’s dwelling. The staircase is constructed of concrete cast in MDF formwork scaled to the step module. The treads, made of Vicenza grey stone and echoing the hues of the concrete, serve as a visible covering while leaving the underlying structure perceptible on the risers. A stainless-steel handrail introduces a striking contrast with the staircase enclosure, behind which a lime-washed veil reveals the rough, original masonry, preserving the tactile quality of the historic material.
At the top of the stairs, a view opens onto the café’s double height and the same large arch facing the street.
Offices unfold in two distinct areas. The first occupies the new glazed volume within the ancient portico, hosting coworking spaces and a meeting room. Black MDF cabinets and wood-glass partitions articulate the interior without interrupting its spatial continuity. The second area, within the barchessa, houses independent offices and more private workrooms, where new partitions interact with the original timber and masonry structures, enhancing the coexistence of the old and the new. These rooms are separated from the corridor by a sophisticated composition of wooden frames mounted on a reinforced-concrete structure — a solution ensuring stability without resorting to invasive interventions such as reinforced plastering, which would have compromised the legibility of the historic walls.
Next to the historic fabric stands a new annex, providing additional workspaces. Its elongated rectangular form and discreet position define it as a kind of contemporary barchessa: a presence both distinct and harmonious, constructed with modern materials — wood, sandblasted white concrete, glass, and iron — that respond to the scale and grammar of the historical complex without imitation. Inside, polished concrete floors alternate with oiled wood surfaces, creating warm, luminous interiors where daylight filters through new glazing and the interstices of the portico.
The landscape project becomes the key to interpreting the layered history and function connecting the villa, the barchessa, and the new annex. Each side of the complex relates to a different context and corresponds to a specific landscape: to the west, an urban garden forming a public threshold continuous with the village and the state road; to the north and east, a rural courtyard with parking and service gardens recalling the productive character of the barchessa; to the south, the nineteenth-century park, preserved in its romantic character and enhanced with sustainable interventions such as the transformation of the fountain into a rainwater basin and seating area, and the creation of a circular mineral carpet slightly offset from it, defining a resting place overlooking both park and villa; and to the east, the brolo — a traditional orchard — revived with hazel rows and fruit trees arranged in a regular grid, with clearings for educational and harvesting activities.
Through stabilized gravel paths, aromatic plant beds, hedges of hornbeam and maple, and an ivory-colored concrete path linking the various areas, the landscape interweaves public and productive functions, strengthening the memory of place. The result is a coherent and multilayered landscape, where historical memory and contemporary practices coexist, restoring new life and plural uses to the entire complex.
CREDITS
Project: RigonSimonetti
Project management / Design team: Francesco Rigon, Margherita Simonetti
Landscape: Giacomo Casentini
Structural engineering: Nicola Caleca
Electrical and mechanical engineering,
fire safety: Christian Castellani
Safety coordinator: Francesco Novello
