A few minutes from our hotel is that of Villa Pisani.
The villas of the Riviera del Brenta were the holiday resort of the Venetian nobles of the '700. They sought green and quiet landscapes, as opposed to the maze of palaces in the city. Among the leisures of the time, the labyrinth was certainly among the favorites.
An opportunity to find yourself and test your mental, strategy and reflection skills. Perhaps not everyone knows that it was also a place of courtship. The (masked) lady stood in the central turret, while the knight had to prove her that he could reach her through his ability. Finding the right way to the center of the labyrinth. Once he arrived, he could reveal the lady's face.
San Giorgio Maggiore (an island in the lagoon) contains a newly built labyrinth (2011). The Cini Foundation homage the Argentine writer Borges, who was deeply in love with Venice and its labyrinths of streets and squares. The author see the maze as a physical place to describe metaphors of reflection, confusion, hallucination, time and space.
The homage made to Borges is not only in the path of hedges, but also in the architecture. Only by looking at the labyrinth from above you realize that the hedges also draw the symbols dear to the author. The labyrinth is not passable at the moment due to covid restrictions. But it is also worth visiting:
the Palladian Basilica, the monastery, the garden with the Vatican Chapels, the fresco by Veronese (copy of the one present in the Louvre, where it was and how it was) and the Longhena staircase.
Going further, in the province of Padua, more precisely in Valsanzibio (Galzignano Terme) we find the Garden of Villa Barbarigo. Another of the Venetian villas with a wonderful park. The villa of the '400, over the centuries has undergone various transformations. Same goes for its park; which has been enriched with statues, fountains, plants and a large labyrinth.
The park and its elements are a metaphor of man's journey to salvation (it was constructed shortly after the plague of 1630). Even the labyrinth symbolizes a path .. made of errors (sins) and enigmas, in search of the truth and revelation of the way out.
The Castle of San Pelagio, in Due Carrare (in the province of Padua), now Museum of flight, contains in its park two labyrinths:
one dedicated to the myth of the Minotaur. The symbols are present in the path of hedges, and to Icarus who with his flight takes up the theme of the museum.
and one dedicated to Gabriele D'Annunzio. A square shape with mirrors that recall the theme of the double, dear to the author. Also in this case the theme of the museum is taken up by the writer's love for flying.
