Andrea Crisanti buys 16th-century Venetian villa. I have passion for Palladio. I will open it up to visitors

Microbiologist Andrea Crisanti, who has become famous since the beginnings of the Covid emergency (his was the project to track the inhabitants of Vo’ Euganeo, which along with Codogno was the first municipality affected by the disease, and later a familiar face of television hosts) has bought an important Veneto villa, Villa Priuli Custoza, a historic building located in San Germano dei Berici, in the province of Vicenza. The villa was designed at the end of the 16th century by Palladio’s greatest pupil, Vincenzo Scamozzi (Vicenza, 1548 - Venice, 1616), best known for creating the sets for the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.

It is a 2,430-square-meter property with 12,500 square meters of exterior: the elegant and sober facade features a portico surmounted by a tympanum, as well as a pediment with cusps, typical of Scamozzi’s language. Recently restored, it was for sale at an agency specializing in luxury residences (Lionard Luxury Real Estate), at a price of 2 million euros: the villa complex sees 8 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 4 lounges, fine furniture and finishes, a 60-square-meter guest quarters, a 600-square-meter barn, a vat house, Italian-style gardens, 350 square meters of cellars, even an oratory and a large 500-square-meter barchessa.

The purchase of the prized property immediately unleashed a wave of controversy, as many accused Crisanti of buying the villa with the alleged money he earned from TV appearances during emergencies (so, in essence, the accusation is that he profited from the misfortune). Crisanti, however, rejected all accusations, saying in an interview with Repubblica that he actually paid much less than 2 million euros for it (there was a long negotiation with the agency) and that he paid for it partly with his life savings and partly with a mute. “I’m a 67-year-old professional, something in life I must have earned,” he said. “And anyway, it’s not so much what one earns that counts, but how much one spends. My wife and I have always led a simple life, without a lot of travel and working a lot.” His wife, Nicoletta Catteruccia, is a department head at a London hospital.

Crisanti explained that he earned nothing from the emergency: “I don’t do any private business,” he explained, “all the money I earn from consulting, I donate to the department. Precisely to avoid equivocal situations, I made it a point not to earn a single penny from the pandemic. Never made paid appearances, never took money for Covid.”

The microbiologist from the University of Padua explained that the decision to purchase the Scamozzian villa stems from his passion for this type of architecture. “During high school I was passionate about art history and in particular Palladio. This villa was built by Scamozzi, who was a student of Palladio. There are cultural connections that are important to us. Here, it was a cultural choice.” According to Crisanti, his choice was “an act of courage: that villa had been abandoned for 10 to 15 years. I feel I am doing a good thing for the enhancement of the artistic heritage of Veneto. This region needs people who appreciate and value certain wonders.”

The villa, Crisanti finally made known, will also be able to be opened to the public, as well as to schoolchildren: in fact, the project is to make guided tours possible. “The goal,” he concluded, “is to return this historic villa to the community.” He expressed satisfaction with Assocastelli, the association of managers and owners of period and historic properties: “In the Veneto region there are currently about five hundred palaces and villas for sale, many of which are in a condition of abandonment, degradation and neglect. Therefore, the initiative of Mr. and Mrs. Crisanti-Catteruccia can be a positive example.” The association called Crisanti “hoping that the future of the villa will include its usability and enhancement.”

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Andrea Crisanti buys 16th-century Venetian villa. I have passion for Palladio. I will open it up to visitors

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