Dating back to the third quarter of the 16th century, the villa of the Parensi family is a compact, quadrangular block. The almost flat front of the building includes a portico and a loggia above with three arches on Tuscan columns; both are covered by a vaulted roof. By comparing the current building with a fine 17th century drawing by Domenico Checchi, its is possible to see the changes that ahve been made and how the villa stood at the centre of a vast agricultural estate.
Outside the enclosure walls, the public oratory has maintained the 17th century form as drawn by Checchi, with square pilasters supporting the entablature and the gable, and with curved stone cornices that enanche the openings in the facade.
The garden below it is borderted by the lemon houses and the olive mill.
The villa passed from the Mansi family in 1791, when Camilla Parensi, the last descendent of the family, married Raffaele di Luigi Mansi.
Villa Grabau at San Pancrazio
Villa Grabau is one of the first forms of villa settlement in the hills north of Lucca. Recent research has shown how the villa owes its origins to the unification of severl properties carried out by the Diodati family from the 15th century. The information confirms that from this period the hills of Lucca were the subject of a series of land rearrangement operations, the use of the land, building work, expressions of new architectural layouts and new agricultural arrangements.
It is not yet known when the villa was transformed in the Reinaissnce style which is characterised by the portico in the facade, now closed in with glass. Important from the point of view of the landscape is the view which starts at the old Lucca road (now a country lane), follows the avenue leading to the park, crosses the villa and ends in the exedra of the garden behiand the villa. The transformation in neoclassical style, which took place at different times, is modelled on the nearby villa Principessa at Marlia.
The portico was closed in with large windows and dcorated internally with trompe l’oeil curtains. The park which is probably the same age as the villa, consists of several gardens. Its current form dates back to 1836 and the time when it was owned by the Cittadella family.
The botanical gardens extended along two sides of the central lawn and boasts a collection of plants from all parts of the world. Because of its rare exotic vegetation, the most extraordinary ection is the “English Garden”, dating back to the 19th century, where some majestic species can be admired. At the beginning of the 20th century some additions were carried out in the “Art Noveau” style which was popular at that time.
Along the west side of the villa, near the kitchens and stables, there is a small “Teatro di Verzura“, probably, inspired by the theatre at the nearby Villa Reale in Marlia; it was created during the 19th century with box hedges forming the wings of the stage; a spherical niche hides the prompt box. The entrance is guarded by two Renaissance lions in marble.
The garden behiand the villa, with the beautiful scenery of the hills in the background is a wide, semi-elliptical parterre, edged with tall hedges to form a green exedra with statues of Ceres, venus, Pomona and others.
The mosaics, made form rock crystals, quartz and tufa, cover the Matraia stone and white marble balustrade which separates the two levels. Shady paths connect the various areas of the park. Of particular interest is the large 17th-18th century lemon house, one of the most important and beautiful in the Lucchesia, which is still used to house the citrus plants during the winter.
The Teatro di Verzura at Villa Reale
What better month than Mayfor a visit to the sumptuous grounds of the Villa Reale at Marlia?
Here will find one of the best preserved historic gardens in Italy. The Villa itself was known to have been in the hands of the Buonvisi family as far back as the early 1500s, but it was only in 1652 when it was acquired by the Orsetti family that the gardens were first laid out and planted with various species designed to create a baroque style landscape.
The so called “Teatro di Verzura” dates from this period, going back to around 1680, from which time it has remained unchanged.
But what is a Teatro di Verzura? It is an open hair theatre, in which natural forms such as artfully placed and trimmed trees, hedges and shrubs make up the backdrop, the wings and the stage, creating the architectural structure with the decorative elements then supplied by statues, seats and columns.
The origins of these natural theatres are not clear; they are thought to have been used for simple or povere performances, poetry readings, songa and open air concerts. By the early 17th century, the art of topiary was already well developed, especially by Roman gardeners, seeking to “sculpt” trees by pruning them in reconisable forms. The box tree, they yew and the laurel lent themselves especially well to being shaped in the form of human figures, hunting scenes and animals. From these origins arose the strange architectural phenomenon of the late 1600s that we know know as the Teatro di Verzura.
The theatre at Marlia, while not unique, is certainly a rare and brilliant example of topiary, preserving the original 17th century greenery. It is more elaborate and better preserved, for example, than the one at Villa Garzoni at Collodi, or those at the Villa Gori and Villa Sergardi at Siena.
It cnsists of a stage, wings and backdrop of evergreen cypress trees, a prompt box in appropriately enough, box wood, a rostrum for the conductor, stalls for the audience with box hedges setting out the rows of seats, and series of bow-fronted opera boxes, entirely constructed from greenery.
A row of little semicircles of boxwood runs along the proscenuim arch to hide the lights used for evening performances.
* dining room
* family dining room and TV room
* office
* kitchen
* laundry
First Floor
* 3 double bedrooms with bathrooms en suite
* 1 master double bedroom with bathroom en suite
* 1 suite double bedroom with bathroom en suite
Facilities
* daily breakfast
* air conditioning
* central heating
* computer & internet
* telephone & fax
* computerised telephone billing
* stereo CD player with central rediffusion
* satellite TV
* alarm
Staff
* 1 cook on request
* 1 maid (6 days a week)
* gardener
Exclusions
* food
* beverages
* telephone and fax billing
* gratuities
* laundry
* transfers
* lunch and dinner
With the 2010 vacation season fast approaching I wanted to remind you that there are a few choice weeks left at either Villa al Boschiglia or Villa Casale Sodini.
The dollar against the euro is better than it has been for two years and plane fair from Newark to Milan is as low as $725. All in all this makes an unforgettable Tuscan trip more affordable.
We already have several bookings for 2011, so it is not too early to consider your plans for next year.
If you have any friends that you think might be interested in this information kindly pass this along to them. Thank you.
