Villa Lazara was built in the fifteenth century for the Lazara family, who were powerful members of the ancient nobility in Padua. However, its present appearance is the result of substantial alteration and extension work carried out over the centuries; these interventions involved the construction of the tall pediment on the east facade and the addition of a pronaos with columns on the north side of the building. The villa has a quadrangular floor plan with a projecting portico on the facade giving onto the road. The two side elevations are symmetrical and one floor higher in their central section. Over the centuries various important figures have stayed at Villa Lazara: in 1574 Henri III de Valois, who the following year became king Henri III of France; in 1683 St. Gregory Barbarigo, who was then bishop of Padua; in 1748 Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, who later became pope Clement XIII. Bought by Monsignor Francesco Beggiato in 1905, the villa became a parish facility, and since 1927 has been run by the Canossian Fathers.
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