Loggia Cornaro.jpg|Loggia Cornaro, Padua Odeo Cornaro (fronte).jpg|Odeo Cornaro, Padua Villa vescovi ingresso lato sx.jpg|Garden façade of Villa dei Vescovi, Torreglia Torre dell'Orologio Padova.jpg|Entrance portal at base of
Torre dell'Orologio, Padua Falconetto was born in Verona into an established family of Veronese painters and studied in
Rome for a time, in the studio of
Melozzo da Forlì. On his return to Verona his standing in his
rione made him of use to
Emperor Maximilian, who was headquartered in Verona from 1509 to 1517, during the episode of the
Italian Wars called the
War of the League of Cambrai, and not simply for painting imperial arms to replace those of
Venice that had been effaced on Maximilian's orders. With the return of a Venetian governor, Falconetto and his family were proscribed and seem to have withdrawn to
Trent. Later his career was passed at Padua, where he was drawn by the patronage of
Pietro Bembo and
Alvise Cornaro, for whom Falconetto designed the Villa Cornaro at
Este (since remodelled), of which an imposing adjacent gate remains. Cornaro's influence with the
Bishop of Padua doubtless elicited Falconetto's commission to design the
Villa dei Vescovi ("Villa of the Bishops") located in the town limits of
Torreglia in the
Euganean Hills. Other works of architecture at Padua include the
Loggia Carnica, the
Porta S. Giovanni and
Porta Savonarola in the city walls, and the arch in Piazza dei Signori. Nearby, he designed the church at
Codevigo. As a painter, several works by Falconetto are in the
Museo Civico housed in the
Castelvecchio. His
frescos in the
Duomo reappeared in 1870 from under their coat of whitewash applied in 1630 at a time of
plague. Frescoes securely attributed to Falconetto decorate the
Sala dello Zodiaco in the
Palazzo di Bagno, now within
Palazzo d'Arco, Mantua, probably executed c. 1520 for a member of the
Gonzaga family, as
Vasari remarks, "he produced at Mantua several things for signor Luigi Gonzaga". He died in Padua in 1535. ==Gallery of
Salla dello Zodiaco in Mantua==