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NIGHT · SAN LORENZO
The Tiepolos, a private villa garden and a sky full of shooting stars
Tiepolo frescoes, secret rooms and shooting stars
In Italy, 10 August is the night of shooting stars and wishes. At this eighteenth century villa, the evening moves from 800 square metres of Tiepolo frescoes to historic gardens beneath the summer sky, with a secret cistern opened for the 2026 celebration.
Stefan Bauer, httpwww.ferras.at, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Know before you go
WHY GO ↓ · TWO PAINTED WORLDS ↓ · ITALY’S NIGHT OF WISHES ↓ · THE SECRET OPENING ↓ · PLAN YOUR NIGHT ↓
WHY GO
On 10 August, Italians look towards the sky for the Lacrime di San Lorenzo, the Tears of Saint Lawrence, and make a wish whenever a shooting star appears. At Villa Valmarana ai Nani in Vicenza, the 2026 celebration offered something more unusual than an ordinary evening of stargazing. The villa opened until 22:00, allowing visitors to explore its Tiepolo frescoes, eighteenth century gardens and historic woodland as daylight faded over the Berici Hills. There were painted skies by Giambattista Tiepolo, real summer skies above the garden, and a secret underground space opened especially for the occasion.
TWO PAINTED WORLDS
Before looking for shooting stars, there were more than 800 square metres of frescoes to explore. In 1757, Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo, father and son, decorated the villa with two remarkably different visions of eighteenth century Italy. Giambattista filled the Palazzina with gods, heroines, epic love stories and luminous skies inspired by Homer, Virgil, Ariosto and Tasso. Giandomenico preferred the human comedy of Venetian society, carnival masks, country gatherings, fashionable visitors and everyday life.
Even Goethe, who visited during his Italian journey, was struck by the difference between the sublime and the natural in Tiepolo's art. For one August evening, visitors could experience both painted worlds before going outside to watch the real sky.
ITALY’S NIGHT OF WISHES
Why do Italians make wishes on 10 August?
The tradition associates the shooting stars of August with the tears of Saint Lawrence, whose feast day falls on 10 August. The phenomenon is linked to the Perseid meteor shower, produced by debris from Comet Swift Tuttle. The astronomical peak rarely coincides perfectly with the traditional date. In 2026, NASA placed the Perseid maximum on the night of 12 to 13 August, while meteors were already active on San Lorenzo. The Italian custom has its own calendar. You look up, wait for a streak of light and make your wish.
THE SECRET OPENING
The 2026 edition included another unusual opportunity: access to the villa's ancient cistern, a historic space normally closed to visitors. The cistern was included in the special opening, while Veneto Segreto organised additional Secret Tours exploring less accessible parts of the complex.
The evening programme also included the Italian gardens and the historic woodland, reopened to the public in 2025 after around three centuries. Behind the hornbeam walks and eighteenth century nymphaeum, the grounds extend towards a small Chinese style pagoda among the trees. An opportunity to experience the villa's architecture, gardens and hidden spaces during a rare after dark opening.
PLAN YOUR NIGHT
The San Lorenzo event took place on 10 August 2026, with extraordinary opening until 22:00. Future evening openings and the 2027 programme are subject to official confirmation. For upcoming dates, admission conditions and special guided tours, consult Villa Valmarana's official website.
ADDRESS
Villa Valmarana ai Nani, Via dei Nani 8, 36100 Vicenza, Italy.
OFFICIAL INFORMATION
+39 351 5326867