Italian Highway Proposal Threatens Palladian Villas

The notorious Autostrada A-31 Valdastico Sud, proposed to run from Trento in Trentino-Alto Adige, via Vicenza to Rovigo in the Veneto, was initiated in the 1970s. Labelled "the most futile and destructive motorway in Italy" for the damage it could potentially inflict on the landscapes of the famous Palladian villa La Rotunda (lower right) and the Villa Saraceno (above), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it will also damage the environment of Lake Caldonazzo and lead to the development of sprawling industrial estates on one of the few remaining unspoiled agricultural landscapes of lowland Italy.Some may have thought that this proposal had been seen off a while ago. It's back, and it's worse, and it's got the support of Berlusconi's government.Find out how to protest at this senseless destruction of the architectural and landscape heritage of western architecture on INTBAU's News Page.

Thanks to Dr Matthew Hardy