A Venetian villa from the 16th century along the Bisatto, adjusted over the centuries but preserving a good part of its layout, typical and repeated several times in Este, except for the portico on the façade, linked to a specific rule of the neighborhood along the canal. Documented sources trace the building back to 1537, but the Palace takes its name from the Venetian family that owned it from 1655, particularly Doge Carlo Contarini. Located in the historic center of Este, it is now known as the Sacred Heart College, as it was once the site of the Sacred Heart Institute managed by the nuns of the same order; later, it housed the municipal library.
Today, on the east side, the palace is flanked by a 19th-century building, expanded in the early 20th century for educational purposes for which the entire complex has been used since then.
The villa follows the logic of the Venetian patrician families, who were somewhat distanced from the city but close to the Bisatto (and the boat that took them to the lagoon). By the end of the 18th century, the area beyond the Bisatto was peripheral, and beyond the row of porticoed buildings along the road opened a countryside of bordered fields and sparse cottages.
The important porticoed façade of the palace is similar to that of other 17th-century Venetian villas, following a model by Scamozzi, but here the portico at ground level is masterfully integrated, certainly to comply with a local rule that required front-facing buildings along the canal to house shops sheltered by a portico.
In fact, due to an urban planning orientation followed by all, since 1700 the entire front along the Bisatto has been porticoed. This typically urban aspect, which is entirely appropriate for the shop houses near the old gate bridge, makes little sense for the Contarini villa, yet it has been observed since the beginning and proved suitable for the subsequent educational use of the building.
By the end of the 1700s, two lower extensions had been added to the palace, with a barchessa extending on the west side towards the garden.
The Palace, previously owned by a doge and then inherited by the Contarini family, is now municipal property. For 200 years, it has appeared not unlike the engravings passed down to us by Coronelli and Montalegre, although the central frieze and the two gables have been lost and one of the annexes (used for educational activities) has been expanded.
Towards the end of the 1700s, an enlargement was made on the right part of the building, trying to align the aggregation with the characteristics of the original façade by resuming the rhythm of the arches at ground level, but omitting the use of the ashlars for the portico.
The educational service wing inserted at the edge of the lot serves as a sort of modern barchessa, leaving the garden and brolo space almost intact. Here too, as in the other gardens, anyone wanting to feel like an explorer can simply follow the boundary wall from the inside... they will surely find some surprise, some nook in the greenery, some ancient feature placed there to surprise them.
