Villa Foscari ‘La Malcontenta' on the Riviera del Brenta, Venice

For those who visit Venice, and want to get away from the bustle of the city for a day and immerse themselves in nature, an ideal is a trip on the Brenta Canal to discover the amazing noble villas of Venice.

The most famous among these villas is perhaps Villa Foscari ‘La Malcontenta', designed by the famous Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1559.

One legend claims that the villa has the nickname Malcontenta which originates from the lady of the Foscari house, who was confined within its walls in solitude to serve a sentence for her dissolute conduct. It is said that she lived here for thirty years and she was never seen coming out or looking out of the windows. The park was overgrown and full of weeds and remains shrouded in mystery about the fact that the woman managed to survive. No one ever took her something to eat, and no one ever lived with her in the house until her death.

In addition to the legend, there are also two historical versions: the first argues that the place was so named since 1431 to commemorate the discontent shown by the inhabitants of Padua and Piove di Sacco for the construction of the Brenta Canal; and the second claims that that thirty years before the deed of ownership of the Foscari family the area was already called Malcontenta, probably from ‘Brenta mal contenuta' because the river often overflowed at this point.

To visit La Malcontenta Villa and many other beautiful villas of the Riviera del Brenta you can book the Brenta Riviera Private Villas Tour on venetoinside.com.