This exceptional villa is set in a privileged hillside position overlooking the enchanting “Little Silent Valley,” a name first given by its most distinguished original owner, renowned 19th-century Italian author Antonio Fogazzaro. The original family residence once stood on this historic site before being destroyed during WW2, on December 28 1943 and subsequently on May 14, 1944, during devastating air raids by dozens of B24 American Allied bombers from USAAF, that struck Vicenza heavily, razing much of the historic centre to the ground and damaging landmark buildings, causing 56 victims, which is huge for a semi deserted city. Vicenza was bombed repeatedly during World War II mainly because it was an important railway and communications hub in German-occupied northern Italy; Vicenza sat on strategically important rail routes connecting Verona, Padua/Venice, and the approaches toward the Brenner Pass and Austria/Germany. Those lines were heavily used to move German troops, fuel, ammunition, and other supplies. Bombing accuracy in 1944–45 was nowhere near modern precision, particularly under poor visibility or anti-aircraft fire. Bombs aimed at the station and railway yards could fall hundreds of metres away. Consequently the bombs that destroyed Fogazzaro's villa were not intended for it, but for the station, a few hundred meters to the North.

In 1952, the present owners, the Ceschi a Santa Croce family—direct descendants of the Fogazzaro family, constructed the present villa, faithfully reviving the refined atmosphere and cultural elegance of the time of their ancestor, though with a contemporary feel, that once defined this extraordinary location. Over the decades, it has continued to welcome a discreet circle of illustrious guests and creative figures, including Cecil Beaton, Prince Michael of Kent, Joseph Losey, Natalie Wood, Jack Palance, Albert Finney, Geza Anda, Rudolf Nureyev and Salvador Dali, and many others drawn to its unique sense of place and timeless sophistication.