History of Casa Longobarda
Casa Longobarda is one of the most extraordinary architectural treasures of Asolo, and features on the architectural trail of the Veneto.
Casa Longobarda is the only surviving architect’s house of the early Renaissance, and it was built at the time when artists built their houses as works of art. The only known restoration took place in 1941 and a further modernisation took place in 2005.
The house was built by Franceso Grazioli between 1495 and 1530. Grazioli was architect and sculptor to Queen Caterina Cornaro, and none of the other buildings in Asolo attributed to him, such as the Church of Santa Catarina, Il Barco and the monastery of San Gerolamo bear any relation to the extraordinary style of the architect’s own house.
The carvings are related to theatrical presentations of the satyric, in which those who live licentiously are reproved, and includes strange creatures of dual nature. For example the rustic water goddess in the centre of the façade resembles a fragment of ancient sculpture and is a representation of Eurynome. There are antique theatrical masks, relief carvings representing the virtues, the signs of the zodiac, the seasons and Biblical and profane stories. The carvings draw a Christian moral from all the stories that he chose to represent and the external façade is similar to other early Renaissance buildings which are known to have antique reliefs and busts on the exterior. This is the only building of its type to have survived unaltered and which fully expresses the Mannerist style.
The signs of the zodiac are arranged in an unexpected order which is related to the order of the birth signs of the apostles as shown in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting 'Last Supper'.
The floor plan plan of the interior of Casa Longobarda has hardly changed in 500 years and it is likely that Grazioli’s studio was part of the ground floor of the house.
Casa Longobarda is a remarkable achievement for its time and place and is a fitting monument to the architect of Queen Caterina Coronaro’s Barco.
