A special place, with a villa and a park enclosed like a jewel in a casket: protected by the castle walls, in an invisible little valley behind the surrounding walls, it presents itself as an image from another time.
The estate is, in fact, "snug" in a little valley at the foot of the castle walls, protected above by a high wall and on the side by the park of Villa Benvenuti. The extraordinary position, along with the skillfully shaped slope, makes it one of the most evocative places in Este.
The first slope of the Euganean Hills, at whose feet Este is built, is the privileged location for the most aristocratic residences. The "Contarena vineyard" is one of the most characteristic, due to its proximity to the castle walls.
You reach the "Vigna" of the Contarini from Via Cappuccini, shortly after the Arco del Falconetto.
Like all the estates on the hill in the Contarena vineyard, the brolo follows the natural slope, while significant excavation and terracing work is required to place the main building on a parterre.
Today, the orchard brolo in front of the villa is a lawn that enhances the careful landscaping of the elevations of a place that, like on a stage, achieves grand scenic results in very small spaces.
The Vigna lot originates as a buffer zone of the castle walls, constrained above by the Strada dei Cappuccini, with dimensions, shape, and slopes that are entirely anomalous compared to other Venetian villas in the city.
Unlike other residences, reserved for institutional meetings, the Vigna in the 1700s was truly frequented by various members of the Contarini family, especially during the season that was enjoyable for the fruits and wines, reserved for friends and a cherished intimacy lived as much as or more than the official and public life.
On an older building, an external columned staircase was added in the 18th century, forming a loggia for the entrance to the noble floor. It is a very simple architectural component that, however, characterizes the entire villa, enhancing the chiaroscuro of the facade and enlivening an otherwise flat elevation.
The hortus secretus is a walled garden but with wide openings protected by filters made of perforated terracotta, a kind of open-air room that echoes Meso-Arabic or Persian gardens, wanted by the owner Marco Contarini, who had seen them on a trip in the early 1700s.
The enclosed position and the crown of walls and thick greenery give this place a romantic charm that was appreciated in the 1800s by the new owner, Count Haugwitz, and his successors.
Until a few decades ago, the hortus secretus was left to decline, shaded by ancient cypress trees that, however, enhanced the romantic charm of the place.
A meritorious restoration of the architectural frame has led to the complete restructuring of the vegetation arrangement, with the loss of the sad and contemplative aura of the place.
As in other urban villas that place a backdrop adorned with religious or mythological statues in a corner of the garden, the hortus is also conceived as a space for small representations, tales, and enchantments of word or music that constituted the focus of the days in the villa.
The decoration of the villa is considered the richest among those in Este; indeed, many of the rooms are sumptuously frescoed at the end of the 1600s, perhaps by students of Marco Romano's school.
Despite the "domestic" size of the rooms, the continuous relationship between the lush exterior and the painted interior, where mythological nudes prevail, engages the viewer in a rich and fascinating space.
Seen from the garden of the Vigna Contarena, the Castle Walls appear to constitute the enclosure of the Villa: the exterior (exposed to the enemy) becomes interior (apparently protected).
Count Haugwitz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Prussia during Napoleon's time, bought the estate from the Contarini in 1832 and spent his old age there, wishing to be buried in the garden. He managed the property with broad vision, hosting his peers and donating the archaeological collection to the Municipality of Este.
The romantic figure of the "Prussian," as they call him in Este, preparing a pleasant place to die, is enriched by the legend of an unrequited love for the young Kunkler from the adjacent villa, which consumes the elderly statesman in his last years.
The estate has been bordered since its origins by the Strada dei Cappuccini, the only road ascending the hills today unpaved, with a beautiful cobblestone and slab pavement and enclosed by tall walls.
Besides the hidden position, the surrounding wall that accompanies the Strada dei Cappuccini also prevents the view of the estate (and increases the imagination of the unreachable place of delights).
