the renovation

The gate
The main entrance to the castle, built in the 18th century on orders of marquis Tommaso degli Obizzi, was conceived as a triumphal arch. It features statues, adornments and mascarons. The entire structure was built using white stone from Vicenza, bricks and wooden beams.
It is made up of a main round arch to allow the passage of men on horseback and of two side doors for pedestrians.
The classical-style gate comprises of doric pilasters and a bucranium-decorated entablature, interspersed by circular elements (possibly shields).
On the arch’s keystone one can see Tommaso degli Obizzi’s coat of arms and other ornaments that clearly allude to military feats.

The Gravestones
The gravestones act as overdoors and feature moral and political messages. They are stone/marble sheets placed primarily in the front yard and in the rooftop garden.
Some of them appear on top of fountains (elephant, Medocus Maior and Minor, eagle, Cerberus), others above the entrance arch of the “Casa di Beatrice” and above the back of the entrance gate.
Additional headstones appear on the top of the entrance gate and on the wall surrounding “Beatrice’s garden”.

Casa di Beatrice
The “Casa di Beatrice” (“Beatrice’s House”) is the initial nucleus of Catajo Castle and was owned by the Obizzi family already from 1400. It is situated in a raised position with wide porticoes built on the ground floor running from east to west and with bored holes aligned with the arches.
The entire house was built using brick masonry units covered in plaster. In some areas throughout the wall, one can see that yellow-ochre lime plaster was used. In other areas the lime plaster was removed and replaced by cement plaster with its typical dark grey colour which in turn was painted over with a yellowish hue.

Giardino di Beatrice
The Giardino di Beatrice (“Beatrice’s Garden”) is situated to the east of the Catajo complex, facing the building, on a natural terrace adjacent to Rio Rialto. You enter the garden through the oldest part of the castle, from Beatrice’s House.
The garden hosts a large number of plants and trees, planted at different times throughout the castle’s history.
From a map analysis carried out by Cesare Campori in 1837 we find that the garden is divided into three quadrants and that the lawn is made up of paths and turfs, typical of Italian Renaissance gardens.
The clear orthogonal shape of the garden means that in the middle of the three quadrants one can find three different kinds of ornaments.
To this day, the garden continues to feature the characteristics of a “secret garden”, once open and facing the frescoed loggia.
It also had a role of an open-air salon, as it also features rooms frequented by Beatrice Pia’s intellectual friends.