Valmarana Braga Palace, Living Again

On Sunday the 21st, Palazzo Valmarana Braga in Vicenza will host the event organized by the Italian Historic Houses Association.

It will be an opportunity to recall a remarkable moment in the life of one of the most beautiful palaces within the UNESCO-listed Palladian heritage.

As so often happens, that moment was born from tragedy: the bombing of the palace during the Second World War, on March 18, when it was partly destroyed and reduced to what seemed an irrecoverable ruin — except for its extraordinary yet fragile façade, the surviving memory of a family’s long history.

The Valmarana family then chose to sell the palace to those who would become its new custodians after four and a half centuries — stewards of one of Palladio’s most extraordinary monuments.

It was Vittor Luigi Braga Rosa who, with enthusiasm and pride (as seen in historic photographs), accepted the responsibility of restoring — indeed, rebuilding — a palace that no longer had a roof, an attic, or a piano nobile hall. Yet it needed to be returned to the city and the world.

These are rare people, and rare moments.

Almost five centuries earlier, Leonardo Valmarana had chosen not to complete the family palace — the place that represented them more than any other — in order to finance the construction of the Teatro Olimpico. He, the prince of Vicenza, had understood the greatness of the man who was transforming the city forever.Who today would place the city before their own family?

It is that greatness that we are still fortunate enough to contemplate, thanks to those who elevated themselves, aware of their historic task, transcending their own time and the narrow boundaries of their social sphere.

Today, the Braga Rosa family — the women of the family, Vilma and her daughter Francesca — continue the work begun by their father.

Francesca has recently carried out an exceptionally meticulous restoration that brought back to life the original plaster and marmorino: a rare example among Palladian façades, long darkened by a stubborn layer of black. Inside, restoration follows restoration, year after year, returning beauty and spaces that continue to live, to speak, to pass things on.

In our small way, we contribute — proud to do so — as the headquarters of the Palladian Villas Owners Network and as its visitor center.

Every day we try to keep alive that same spirit which created, and then passed on, something destined to outlast both utility and the individual.

Fortunately, we are part of something greater.

In our small way, we contribute — proud to do so — as the headquarters of the Palladian Villas Owners Network and as its visitor center. We strive each day to keep alive that same spirit which created — and then passed on — something destined to outlast both utility and the individual.

Fortunately, we are part of something greater.

Discover more here in our profile of Palazzo Valmarana Braga.

https://palladianunescoheritage.com/product-page/valmarana-palace Valmarana Braga Palace is only one of the many reflections of the historical, cultural and artistic heritage that lives and breathes within our Palladian Lands of Beauty.If you wish to truly step inside, here below you’ll find the passage that continues your exploration

in the Palladian Lands of Beauty

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Article updated in 2026