Casa Cogollo
Small Vicenza palazzo attributed to Palladio, known as 'House of Palladio'.
Casa Cogollo is a modest palazzo in Vicenza, constructed in 1559 and credited to the architect Andrea Palladio. It has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto” since 1994. Despite its nickname, the “House of Palladio,” the building was never actually the architect’s home. The misconception likely stems from its small scale, which contrasts with the grandiosity of Palladio’s other palazzi, leading people to mistake it for his personal residence.
In reality, the town council (Maggior Consiglio) required the notary Pietro Cogollo to update the front of his 15th-century house to improve the city’s appearance. This renovation—and an investment of at least 250 ducats—was a condition for granting him Vicentine citizenship. No documents or original drawings survive to confirm Palladio’s involvement, so scholars remain divided over the attribution of the elegant façade. Nevertheless, the cleverness of the architectural solution and the refinement of its details make it hard to assign the work to anyone else.
The design had to overcome a narrow site and the impossibility of placing windows in the center of the main floor (piano nobile) due to an existing fireplace and flue. Palladio responded by emphasizing the central axis: on the ground floor, an arch flanked by engaged columns, and above, a tabernacle-like frame for a fresco by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo. The ground-floor arch is accompanied by two rectangular openings that light and give access to the portico, together forming a type of serliana similar to that used at the Basilica Palladiana. The result is a composition of great monumental and expressive power, achieved with simple means.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Vicenza, Province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
- Part Of
- "City of Vicenza" part of City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
- Criteria
- (i)(ii)(i)(ii)
- Year
- 1994
- Extension
- 1996
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Maggior Consiglio (town council) forced the notary Pietro Cogollo to remodel the façade of his 15th century (Quattrocento) house as a contribution to the 'decorum of the city', making this provision (and a monetary investment in the work of not less than 250 ducats) a condition of their positive response to his request for Vicentine citizenship. In the absence of documents and autograph designs, the attribution to Palladio of this most elegant façade still divides scholars. Yet, because of the intelligence of the architectural solution proposed, as well as the design of all the details, it is difficult to refer the project to any other designer.
Reader's Guide
Casa Cogollo is significant as a small-scale Palladian work that demonstrates how architectural ingenuity can overcome spatial constraints. The constraints posed by a narrow space and the impossibility of opening windows at the centre of the piano nobile (because of an existing fireplace and its flue) induced Palladio to emphasise the façade's central axis, by realising a structure with a ground floor arch flanked by engaged columns, and on the upper storey a tabernacle frame for a fresco by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo. The ground level arch is flanked by two rectangular spaces which illuminate and provide access to the portico, forming a type of serliana, as already done at the Basilica Palladiana. The result is a composition of great monumental and expressive force, despite the simplicity of the means available. Its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site underscores its importance within the Palladian legacy, even as scholarly debate over its attribution continues.
Did You Know?
- Casa Cogollo is known as the 'House of Palladio' but has no connection with the architect's residence.
- The town council forced notary Pietro Cogollo to remodel the façade as a condition for granting Vicentine citizenship.
- The central axis of the façade was emphasized because an existing fireplace and flue prevented windows at the center of the piano nobile.
- The ground floor arch and flanking rectangular spaces form a type of serliana, similar to that at the Basilica Palladiana.
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