GLORIA:We boarded a small bus (except for Gail and Richard who were off exploring Verona) for an all-day tour to several of Palladio's buildings in this area.Our very knowledgeable guide, Roberta, was an expert in this subject and did her thesis on the frescoes in Villa Saraceno.

First stop was Villa Valmarana, c. 1566, a large house encircled by a 1688 wall, topped by many figures of dwarfs.And why?Roberta told us the story: the owner of the Villa had a daughter, who was a dwarf.He had the statues mounted around the wall as a sign of his love for his daughter.

Frescoes in the villa were by Tiepolo.Beautiful gardens in full bloom surrounded the home.

Second stop was to Villa Almerico Capra, c. 1566, often called "La Rotonda".It was an imposing sight in the distance from the highway passing by it.Perched high atop a hill a long lawn leads to the front entrance.A self-contained villa (that is, no other buildings had been built onto this house), the name of the original owners, CAPRA, is prominent above the main entry.It is designed a "villa-temple", not a "villa-farm", and is noted for the harmony and order that is a hallmark of Palladio.It is probably the most famous of his villas because of the contrast of the flourishing green lawn, the stark white walls, and the colorful terracotta roof tiles.This is one of the places that the poet-writer Goethe visited on his 1800's travels through Italy.

We detoured to the charming town of Montagnana where we had lunch (and wine) on a restaurant's outdoor patio shaded by a large white canopy.Again, ham and cantaloupe, wine and sparkling water, were the main choices.We ate "family style" after much discussion.All shops and restaurants were closed for siesta time and I wondered if Floyd had called ahead to be sure of that.

Villa Poiana,c. 1563 (poiana meaning "buzzard" but the significance of that is unknown to Roberta), was the third villa we toured and it was unattended so we could roam leisurely.The frescoes here were unusual, reminding me of needlepoint and embroidery designs.These were quite different from the other frescoes we saw which were primarily of scenes from mythology or early Roman books, or portrayals of the villa owner and family members.Inside the foyer the frescoes showed figures of gods.

The fourth visit was to Villa Pisani at Bagnolo, c. 1545.The current owner, who was not present, is an artist and collector of modern art, which was displayed in several rooms.This was so different from the other art we had seen in the other villas.Regretfully, we missed the antique market day in that town!

And then home to Villa Saraceno where we had our final tour and learned that the first Roman frescoes there had been painted in Palladio's time on the upper walls of the covered porch, the ceiling of the sala (main room), and on the walls of the stanza maggiore (smaller sitting room).The frescoes, the villa and other buildings, either attached or separate from it, had been restored by the Landmark Trust so are now habitable.