Galliera Veneta
Galliera Veneta is a municipality in the Alta Padovana, a plain area north of Padua where cultivated fields alternate with small s...
Updated 12 July 2026 · Sources: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Cappello · https://fondoambiente.it/luoghi/parco-villa-imperiale · https://www.centenariograndeguerra.com/luoghi/villa-imperiale-comando-della-iv-armata/
The story
The story of Galliera Veneta
In the Alta Padovana
Galliera Veneta lies in the strip of plain north of Padua known as the Alta Padovana, an agricultural territory crossed by ditches and canals, historically marked by the presence of Venetian villas built by the Venetian nobility as country residences. The municipality still retains this rural character today, with a modestly sized built up centre and a landscape dominated by cultivated fields.
From the Cappello family to the Habsburgs
The story of Villa Cappello begins in 1508, when the Venetian Cappello family acquired land and a house in Galliera Veneta. In 1530 the original nucleus was expanded into a proper manor house, a period that also saw the creation of the Italian style garden. In 1821 the property passed to the Comello family, who commissioned the architect and set designer Francesco Bagnara to redesign the park in the Romantic English taste, enriching it with fishponds, an artificial island and new pathways. In 1852 the villa was bought by Empress Maria Anna Pia di Savoia, wife of Ferdinand I of Habsburg, who ordered its restructuring, hence the name Villa Imperiale.
A park among the most beautiful in Italy
The restructuring ordered by the empress was interrupted by the events of 1866, when the Veneto became part of the Kingdom of Italy. During the First World War the villa became the headquarters of General Giardino, commander of the Fourth Army. In 1929 the property was purchased by INPS, which established a sanatorium there. The park surrounding the building, often cited among the most beautiful in Italy, is now open to the public free of charge and retains the layout designed by Bagnara in the nineteenth century.
Experiences not to miss
- Passeggiare nel parco all'inglese di Villa Imperiale
- Walk through the English style park of Villa Imperiale
To see
