Francesco Badoer commissioned the villa on sketches by Andrew Palladio.
The date of construction is not certain but in 1557, the main body must
have already existed because it was inserted into a map compiled in
the same year, representing the valleys of San Biagio and Valdentro.
The famous villa appears in the Four Books of Palladio in 1570, where
it is represented with some differences to today's configuration.
In centre of a green meadow closed from the rustics, there is the residential
building with a simple body and monumental pronaos gable preceded by
a wide, articulated stairway; at the sides, leaning out in semicircles,
the "barchesse" on mullions (the "barchessa" in the Venetian villa is
a side wing used for residence or services).
These, with their wide curves enclose the space, and characterize the
building to make it one of the best Palladian works.
The villa was decorated, and Palladio recalls this fact in one of his
books, by Giallo Fiorentino who painted, in the pronaos and in the interior,
imaginative grotesques, which were recovered by the Istituto Regionale
Ville Venete (Regional Institute for Venetian Villas) during restoration
work.
The villa has been declared a monument of world patrimony by UNESCO.
The central body of the villa has been opened for visits since June
2003. The restoration of the garden and the barchesse will be completed
by 2004.
The restored central body will become the natural host for the organization
of meetings and conferences, exhibitions, theatrical, lyric and ballet
performances; while the barchesse will become an Archaeology Museum
exhibiting some unique archaeological finds of great European relevance.
Francesco Badoer commissioned the villa on sketches by Andrew Palladio.
These, with their wide curves enclose the space, and characterize the
building to make it one of the best Palladian works. 
The villa has been declared a monument of world patrimony by UNESCO.