Villa Piovene

Rather grudgingly open to the public for three hours on two days each week...in the summer. You are warned that the entrance fee only entitles you to view the outside and then only from a single path leading through the stable wing down one side of the garden. I rang the bell and waited...and waited. Eventually the surprisingly young custodian shuffled his way to the gate and looked at me as though surprised anyone would actually want to visit. I asked if it was open as the sign indicated, he mumbled something about needing to tie the dog up and disappeared for a further ten minutes. He repeated the warning about the restrictions and asked: "Are you really sure you want to visit. It costs six euros." "No, I came all this way from the UK with the specific intention of not visiting" He took my money and then mentioned as an afterthought that once I was finished with the house I might want to visit the park, which turned out to be a vast Arcadian fantasy.