Historic Notes
- The second half of 1800
- Giovanni Battista Milani and the first half of the 20th century
- The decorations of Calcagnadoro
- Recent renovations and the status of "Residenza d'Epoca"
Walter Fol and Spoleto of the second half of '800
The building preceding the present Villa Milani in the second half of 1800, was known as “la Casa de lu Svizzeru” ("The house of the Swiss").
Such a laconic and Spoleto's name referred to the owner of that time Mr. Walter Fol, - General Staff Captain of the Swiss Federal Engineers - Engineer, Architect, and Archaeologist born in Geneva in 1832.
Spoleto in the early twentieth century
We know that he arrived in Spoleto approximately in 1870. Owner and curator of the homonymous gallery/foundation in Geneva, he was pursuing a possible and nowadays incredible idea: to buy and remove the decorated plasters of the façade of Palazzo Recani - Arroni in Piazza del Duomo.
The heirs of this ancient family because of necessity had already sold the grilles of the ground floor and in 1860 the rich carved wooden cornice in pure gold projecting more than 1.30 metres as a protection for the "graffiti" by Pietro da Spoleto. They were probably in very bad condition because, in 1840, the Town Council of Spoleto asked abbot Luigi Landini to create a relief in water-coloured ink, of the frieze with nymphs and tritons and the architect-engineer-archaeologist, all things considered, as a wise Swiss renounced the purchase.
We think that, considering the standard of the means of transport in his own country, he arrived to Spoleto by train. The railway service, thanks to the favours of the Pope Pio IX, had just started and from the station, at the end of the long straight Via delle Cerque Strette, the town appeared with its "abrupt beauty", still surrounded by walls and encircled by the gentle slopes of the hills rich in olive-yards and dominated by the fortress.
The road to the new Porta Leonina ( also known as San Gregorio's Gate) was lined with orchards and fields, eastwards it was possible to make out the richness of the garden of Villa Redenta, once Casino della Genga; upwards the isolated masses of S. Salvatore and S. Ponziano were visible and the town was a triumph of elegance and wealth.
In the 1870s the National road had been already finished, the Teatro Nuovo (New Theatre) had been just opened, there were 5 banks in the town and as well as agriculture, the economy was based on a flourishing handicraft market.
Spoleto in the early twentieth century
To cross the town and pass through the new Porta di S. Luca was an exciting experience, a true "immersion" in an urban setting where the ancient logical system of roads had been recently revolutionized; from orthogonal roads to the tangential roads along the old and the new terraces, from one noble palace to another, from an old internal courtyard transformed into a modern square to another and, along the way, the scenes of modern architecture which took inspiration from neoclassical or eclectic models of clear central European inspiration: Vienna and Paris. Thanks to the urban perception and the love of this town of some extraordinary politicians, such as Pietro Fontana and Bernardino Montani, Via della Rocca and della Passeggiata had already been opened Furthermore they preserved and improved what the French domination had left in the Umbrian town (libraries, university, hospital, etc.).
The town appeared organized in a modern style, economically rich and culturally stimulating. In such an atmosphere, the Swiss professional was fascinated by the most "Swiss" corner in the territory surrounding the town: the slope towards the Centro Antico del Colle dei Cappuccini or Attivoli.
Probably a "bargain" with Count Onofri Benincasa gave him the chance to buy a beautiful area which extended from the high ground to Colle Risana.
Probably, as a realistic and shrewd Swiss, the architect-engineer-archaeologist thought he might alienate some people, designing and building around or above the houses and the out-buildings previously belonging to the Earl Onofri Benincasa.
When he died in 1890, architect Walter Fol left 3 buildings that he himself had designed: Villa Gismondi (nowadays Villa Mari), his house (today Villa Milani) and one which was under construction (today Villa Antonini).
The Antoninis bought by auction "the house of the Swiss", while waiting for their own house to be completed, and later sold it to the Roman architect Giovanni Battista Milani. Nothing else can help us to know this complex and shy man, who never succeeded in integrating with the local society. In fact, only at the beginning of 20th century the inhabitants of Spoleto abolished a law according to which only after 5 generations living in Spoleto a person could be considered a citizen of Spoleto.
These three Villas represent, together with his tomb in the Cimitero Civico, what the unique Swiss artist left in Spoleto.
Giovanni Battista Milani
When architect Giovanni Battista Milani, bought the Villa from the Antonini, who meanwhile had completed their own house, he modified the "house of the Swiss" improving and “adorning it with antique and valuable pieces both inside and outside the house”.
He annexed the keeper's house, heightened the tower by more than one floor and built the open gallery and the Italian garden. Giovanni Battista Milani (1873 - 1940) was one of the most important Roman professionals in the first half of the 20th century, and he changed the architectural face of the Eternal City.
Bathhouse Ostia Lido in Rome
We recall the church of S. Lorenzo da Brindisi in Via Sicilia, Villino Campus in Via Ciro Menotti 2, Villa Carega in Valle Giulia, the house in Via Cesare Balbo, the faculty of Engineering in S. Pietro in Vincoli, the Palazzina in Via Paraguay 2 and, above all, the magnificent project for the new site of the Modern Art Gallery (for the International Expo of Fine Arts in 1911) even if the solution of Architect Cesare Bazzani, which was more bombastic but less functional, was preferred; and also the bathing establishment in Ostia which was unfortunately destroyed during the last war.
It is a fact anyway that not even Architect Milani who had bought the Villa in Spoleto as a "refuge" from Rome, had links with the local community.
He left nothing else in Spoleto apart from his house which was a sort of continuous workshop where he could assemble and disassemble archaeological and historic remains coming from his restoration sites. However Milani's works, which are a "play" between eclectism-modernism and volume-decoration, with formal references to the renaissance and baroque style but also to some local interpretations transform the "house of the Swiss" into a particular environmental-architectonical "pastiche" that makes Villa Milani one of the most beautiful and prestigious Historic Hotels in Italy.
Antonino Calcagnadoro
Another interesting element in the Villa is the presence of the pictorial decoration of Antonino Calcagnadoro.
This artist (born in Rieti in 1876 - died in Rome in 1935) has been recently revalued by the more discerning critics of the artistic events of the period; moreover thanks to exhibitions and publications, they have tried to create a complete catalogue of his works which range from water-colours and oil paintings to frescos and encaustic decorations, from engravings to sculpture and glass windows etc.
He studied at the Roman Regia Accademia di Belle Arti in Via di Ripetta, where he also taught from 1921; he taught pictorial decoration to Ziveri, Mafai and Scipione at the Scuola Industriale Serale in Via S. Giacomo.
Fresco of Calcagnadoro
This work in Spoleto, which has been ignored till now, is a part of his well documented activity regarding Roman palaces and ministries, theatres and houses in Rieti, Terni and Sampierdarena and his works as a decorator (which varied in style and culture from Pompeian paintings to sixteenth century elaborations of the ornaments).
Among the nearest decoration works to be visited we mention: the houses Campanelli, Ciancorelli and Piselli in Rieti, Palazzo Comunale, Palazzo Ricci and the Teatrino (small theatre) di S. Caterina in Rieti, the Istituto Regina Elena and Palazzo Coen in Rome and in Terni: Palazzina Alterocca, Palazzo Spada, Villa Maria, Villino Fogli, etc.
The restoration
The recent restoration was just a "light" work aiming to bring back the Villa and the tower to be functional once again; in fact we are persuaded that the location, the extraordinary landscape, the easy and quick accessibility, the setting (the architecture and the place) and the careful and accurate preservation of the smallest detail (even the apparent "the lack of comfort" and "uneasiness") can promote the success of the present accommodation enterprise.
In the restored ancient residence Villa Milani there are eleven double rooms. On the ground floor are located the communal services (kitchen, breakfast, hall, lounge, etc.) Outside there is an Italian garden surrounded by nine hectares of land for pleasant walks..
Back to top
Arch. Giuliano Macchia
