It was originally conceived by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, who published a plan in his book I quattro libri dell'architettura.

[1] The original design included areas to serve as cellars, stables, dove-houses, wineries, and other utilitarian spaces.

The proposed Palladian villa was never built: Palladio's patron may have been obliged to halt the project for financial reasons.

However, the central building was eventually rebuilt after a plan by Baldassarre Longhena, which is not Palladian in style.

[2] Although the building as it stands is only partly by Palladio, in 1996 UNESCO included it in the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".