Villa Forni Cerato

Villa Forni Cerato
Front facade of villa
General information
Architectural style	Palladian
Country	Italy
Client	Girolamo Forni

Coordinates: 45°39′32″N 11°33′44″E / 45.65889°N 11.56222°E / 45.65889; 11.56222

The Villa Forni Cerato is a 16th-century villa in Montecchio Precalcino, Province of Vicenza, northern Italy. Its design is attributed to Andrea Palladio and his client is assumed to have been Girolamo Forni, a wealthy wood merchant who supplied building material for a number of the Palladio's projects. The attribution to Palladio is partly on stylistic grounds, although this is a complicated issue - the building departs from the Palladian norms.

The villa was probably built in the 1540s modifying an existing building on the site. The double name Forni-Cerato, which it is always given, dates back to 1610. In that year the building, which belonged to Girolamo Forni who can be regarded as having commissioned it, passed in accordance with a provision in his will into the ownership of Giuseppe, Girolamo and Baldissera Cerato. Both its attribution to Palladio and the assumption that Girolamo Forni had it built remain a matter of speculation. The first reference to the architect being Palladio is in the 18th century (when it was mentioned by the architects Francesco Muttoni and Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi). However, modern research agrees almost unanimously with their opinion.

Villa Forni Cerato is relatively small in size.

The loggia stands out as the dominant part of the villa on the frontal facade. In a comparable manner to Villa Godi, a flight of steps reaches over the basement and leads up to the loggia, which opens in a serliana. This serliana takes up the entire width of the loggia. The central axis is clearer than at the Villa Godi, partly because of the fenestration. But it is not only in this respect that the Villa Forni Cerato marks a step forward in Palladio's development; for the first time the borders between the various storeys of the facade are clearly visible. Height is structured by the triple rhythm of the cellar storey, piano nobile and mezzanine storey.