The second volume in the series of Ecocritical Guides to Wetlands, this book takes us on a journey of discovery to Villa Foscari, known as La Malcontenta, one of the most famous masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, designed by Andrea Palladio. Located “above the Brenta,” on the border between lagoon and mainland, between fresh and salt water, the villa embodies a metamorphosis of the landscape and its materials, of civilization, of the very way of living. Through essays, images, and interdisciplinary reflections, the volume highlights the historical depth and ecological resonance of Palladio's work, exploring the villa as a threshold between interior and exterior, between design harmony and the environmental disorder of a territory transformed by urbanization and the climate crisis. Not a conventional guide, but a critical tool for understanding how architecture can, through the centuries, inhabit the landscape responsibly.

Edited by Giulia Foscari. With contributions by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Pier Vittorio Aureli, Emanuele Coccia, Antonio Foscari, Giulia Foscari, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Introduction by Ferigo Foscari.

Photographs by Lois Conner, Francois Halard, and Matthias Schaller.

Year of publication: 2025
Language: Italian