Frescoes in the Villa Godi, Lonedo di Lugo Vicentino (1561-65)

Girolamo Godi, organizer of a Vicenzan literary salon and friend of Pietro Bembo and Alvise Cornaro, engaged Gualtiero Padovano around 1550 to decorate the villa. In addition to the loggia, the decoration of four rooms in the right wing of the villa can be ascribed to Gualtiero: the Hall of the Gods or the Putto, the Hall of the Triumphs, the Hall of the Caesars, and the Hall of the Sacrifices. Gualtiero's sudden death in 1552 prevented him from completing the work which was taken over by Giovanni Battista Zelotti, who created the frescoes in the central hall, the Hall of Olympus, the Hall of the Arts, the Room of Seasons, and the Hall of the Muses. In the latter the contribution of Battista del Moro (c. 1515-c. 1573) is assumed.

The frescoes in the Villa Godi represents the apex of Zelotti's work, thanks to the harmonious fusion of decorative elegance, careful chromatic relationships, and the skilful use of illusionistic perspective.