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The Villa Caldogno is the result of one of Palladio's early projects. Its construction began in 1542, at the behest of Losco Caldogno, an aristocrat and silk merchant from Vicenza, who had inherited an agricultural complex and fields in Caldogno the year before. Construction of the building and the decoration of the interiors extended over a long period of time, brought to completion only in 1570.
The fresco decoration of the loggia, the Central Hall, and two other rooms (Room of Scipio and Room of Sofonisba) was completed by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo and Giovanni Battista Zelotti by 1570. In 1646, the interior distribution of the space was modified and a new small room (camerino), connecting the Room of Scipio and the Room of Sofonisba, was frescoed by the young Venetian painter Giulio Carpioni. These frescoes illustrate scenes from Guarino Guarini's Pastor Fido (The Faithful Shepherd). The room was partly frescoed earlier by an unidentified sixteenth-century painter with some episodes taken from Torquato Tasso's Aminta.
Carpioni's paintings in the camerino unfold in three compartments on the walls, each containing an episode from the poem; the compartments are embellished along the side edges with refined, colourful floral festoons. The scenes depict: The Coronation of the Nymph Amaryllis, Winner of the Kissing Competition; The Pursuit of Corsica by a Satyr; and the Wounding of Dorinda, Mistaken by the Shepherd Silvio for One of His Prey. In the corners of the room, as a connective element, are two unusual, extremely lively candelabra. Completing the cycle, above the two doors are the scenes Cupid Taming the Lion and The Struggle between Erote and Anterote.
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