The secrets behind the Mediterranean's most famous Renaissance villas

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Mediterranean villas were once a way to bring the ideals of antiquity back into everyday life. Renaissance Italians erected country houses to hide from the summer heat, enjoying the shade of the refined gardens and the coolness of the fountains. Neighbors in European countries in those days preferred fortified castles - and only a few centuries later the splendor of the villas was appreciated all over the world.

1. Villa Farnese

Villa Farnese, or Caprarola Castle, is located fifty kilometers northwest of Rome, in the Lazio region. It began to be erected in the twenties of the 16th century on the instructions of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III. However, during his lifetime, the construction was not completed, and the residence was later taken over by the grandson of Paul III, also named after Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Perhaps the most famous master of the late Renaissance, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, was invited as an architect.

The villa, pentagonal at the base, located on a hill, turned out to be large, solemn and majestic. The huge windows of the front floor, the restrained and even formidable view from the outside and the splendor of the painting and decoration inside gave the castle-villa a special appeal. Villa Farnese was the forerunner of Italian Baroque architecture and one of the most significant monuments of the Renaissance. The building is adjoined by a small garden, but harmoniously integrated into the natural landscape.

2. Villa d'Este

One of the most beautiful palace and park ensembles in Europe appeared thanks to the son of Lucrezia Borgia, Cardinal Hippolyte d'Este. The villa is located near the town of Tivoli in Lazio. Work began in 1560. The architect was Pirro Ligorio, who earlier excavated the ancient Roman villa of Hadrian, which is located nearby.

Villa d'Este was conceived as a meeting place for musicians and writers, a rich collection of antique statues was gathered there, later lost, the walls were decorated with frescoes and Flemish tapestries. The garden was also striking, where a complex system of fountains was arranged, including the "Boiling Staircase", equipped with four dozen water cannons, and the "Organ Fountain", where water, displacing air through organ pipes, created a melody. It was the local fountains that inspired Peter the Great to build a park in Peterhof.

The owner of the villa until 1914 was the notorious Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose murder sparked the outbreak of the First World War.

3. Villa Lante

Located near the city of Viterbo, Villa Lante also once belonged to the clergy - first it was owned by Cardinal Gambara, later by Cardinal Montalto. The architectural complex of the villa since then consists of two buildings built in the second half of the 17th century with a difference of several decades, but, nevertheless, almost identical - Palazzo Gambara and Palazzo Montalto.

And Villa Lante, in turn, is famous for its complex of fountains - some of them were created after those that already functioned in the gardens of Villa d'Este. Many were the pinnacle of the art of engineering at the time; the best specialists were invited to create them. In the garden of Villa Lante, the work was led by the famous engineer Tommaso Guinucci. The work was carried out to such a high level that it allowed the fountain system to exist up to the present time, that is, for more than four centuries. The uniqueness of the park of Villa Lante is also given by expressive sculptures. The park is located on several levels, including a real forest - as conceived by the architects, this symbolizes the transition from the kingdom of the wilderness to the garden, where nature is completely conquered by man.

4. Villa Pratolino

This villa is located in Tuscany, near Florence. Villa Pratolino was ordered to be built by the Duke of Tuscany Francesco Medici for his mistress Bianca Capello. Construction lasted from 1569 to 1581.

The park, in turn, was also famous for its fountains, which, alas, damaged the building after the villa was abandoned in the 18th century. The water, which was brought to the garden through a special plumbing system, eroded the foundation, and the villa had to be demolished. The new building was built by Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, Prince of San Donato, who acquired the villa grounds in 1860. There he died, leaving the villa, already called Demidoff, to his descendants.

Now this complex has become a state museum, cascades of fountains, grottos have been restored in the park, according to descriptions and drawings, statues have been installed.

5. Villa Rotunda

The Villa Rotonda, located near Vicenza, was built for the Vatican official Paolo Almerico at the end of the 16th century. This building became an example of manor architecture, it was copied by many architects when referring to the traditions of European palace and park construction - in particular, when creating the English Chiswick House. The building repeats the shape of an ancient temple; the rules of symmetry are strictly observed in its outlines. The sun sets in all the rooms during the day, and the rotunda dome that crowns the villa building through a round opening lets daylight into the living room below it - in the same way the lighting in the Roman Pantheon is arranged.

The building of the Villa Rotunda fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape and was generally erected, contrary to the traditions of the Early Renaissance, in harmony with nature - in accordance with all the laws of ancient art.

6. Villa Medici

One of the residences of a powerful Italian family was also erected in the Eternal City, on the Roman hill of Pincho. In ancient times, this place was the garden of Lucullus, where Empress Messalina was executed, in the Middle Ages there were vineyards, and in 1576, Cardinal Ferdinando Medici, a great connoisseur of ancient Roman art, started the construction of a villa. The facades of the building were decorated with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from ancient myths, stone lions were located at the main entrance, reminiscent of the coat of arms of the owner of the villa, the frescoes inside were illustrations for Aesop's fables.

During the work, many works of antique art were found - statues, which later adorned the interiors of the villa and the adjacent garden. Currently, most of these masterpieces are kept in the Uffizi Gallery. The French Emperor Napoleon assigned the building to house the French Academy in Rome.

7. Villa Leopolda

French villas began to appear much later - in imitation of Italian and antique country residences, and many of them, despite their recent history, have earned the attention and recognition of connoisseurs and art critics, as well as tourists.

Villa Leopolda is located on the Cote d'Azur. in the town of Villefranche-sur-Mer. It was built by the Belgian king Leopold II - again, for a favorite. Her name was Caroline Lacroix, and also - "Queen of the Congo", since the king's girlfriend got significant sums coming from the Belgian colony in the Congo. Five days before his death, the king married his longtime mistress, but after his death, the villa was still returned to the property of the royal dynasty.

The villa received its current appearance after it was acquired by the American architect Ogden Codman Jr., and now this luxurious building is considered one of the most beautiful and most expensive in France. Having managed to repeatedly change owners, Leopold's villa even almost became the property of the Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

8. Villa Kerilos

Villa Kerilos is located near Nice in the town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the archaeologist and historian Theodor Reinach, who set out to reproduce the antique villa of the island of Delos, which has not survived until modern times.

During the construction of the house, only those materials were used that were available to the ancient Greeks - stone, marble, wood. At the same time, the owner made sure that the villa was equipped with all the requirements for comfort - in addition to heating. The architect invited Emmanuel Pontremoli, also an archaeologist and connoisseur of ancient culture. After the death of the owner of the house, the villa became the property of France, on its territory was organized Museum.

9. Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

A huge area of seven hectares was bought by Baroness Beatrice Rothschild, married to Ephrussi, on the Cape Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Cote d'Azur. In 1905, the construction of a residence for a representative of the famous dynasty and the construction of gardens began there. During her work, Beatrice changed two dozen architects. She named her villa, which in 1912 was finally ready to receive its first guests, Ile-de-France - "French island".

The house was filled with objects of medieval and Renaissance art, and in the huge park, visitors could visit several different gardens. They still decorate the area around the main house. "Florentine" includes an alley of cypress trees and a grotto, "stone" - all kinds of bas-reliefs, "exotic" grow cacti and aloe, "Provencal" - olives, pines and lavender. The largest garden - "French" - houses the pavilion "Temple of Love", exactly repeating the one that was built in Versailles for Marie Antoinette.

In the rose garden, you can see varieties of roses that were bred and named after the Baroness Rothschild and Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco.

10. Villa La Pause

The land near the town of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin was acquired by Mademoiselle Coco Chanel in 1928. A villa was built here, in the architecture of which the owner embodied the memories of her childhood - about the monastery where she was brought up and where she made her first stitches. The name - "La Pause" - refers to the name of the nearby chapel, where Mary Magdalena stopped to rest on her way from Jerusalem.

The design and decoration of the four-storey villa was carried out by the Grand Mademoiselle. Her guests were Winston Churchill, Prince of Wales, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and many others. One of the Chanel fragrances was named La Pausa after this villa. 1953 Coco Chanel sold her residence after the death of her lover. In 2015, the villa was acquired by Chanel.