La Barchessa di Villa Pisani

There are Palladian villas, and then there are Palladian villas. Villa Pisani isn’t just Palladian in style, it was designed by the 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio himself, and for fans of Renaissance architecture, there’s no higher endorsement for a stay at La Barchessa di Villa Pisani. (Not to mention its Shakespearean location in the Veneto, between Verona and Padua.)

The hotel itself is rather newer than the rest of Palladio’s villa; it occupies a 19th-century building, constructed in the same style and meticulously restored along the way to its present incarnation as a 15-room luxury hotel that’s approximately two parts historical atmosphere to one part contemporary Italian design.

It’s the rooms, in particular, that display the ease with which Italians marry the old and the new; the architectural features are classic, the furnishings a mix of antique and contemporary, and the artworks, also contemporary, often depict Renaissance scenes. It’s a heady mix, but it feels effortless, as all things Italian are intended to feel. Among the villa’s other charms are a gym, a spa, and a lovely outdoor pool. Meanwhile Osteria del Guà serves the phenomenal cuisine of the Veneto.