View of the portego

The Palazzetto Zane was designed by Antonio Gaspari not as a place in which to live, but merely as a place in which to enjoy oneself.

Marino Zane, the seventeenth-century owner of the building, wanted the vault of the double-height portego - the principal room around which the various spaces of the villa were organized - decorated in stucco work. He commissioned Abbondio Stazio, and a less-well-known artist, Andrea Pelli, to execute the work. The frescoes, formerly attributed to Nicolò Bambini, were in fact painted by Sebastiano Ricci. Ricci and Stazio were also responsible for the decoration of the grand staircase.

The portego is entirely surrounded by a balcony, originally meant to accommodate two orchestras, rimmed with a richly carved wooden balustrade. It is still the venue for concerts.