International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) E-ISSN : Volume-1, Issue-1;May-August, 2021; P N.31-37 ©Vidya Kutir Publications https://vidyakutirfoundation.org/journals.html AN 18TH CENTURY ENCHANTEMENT: VILLA GARZONI IN COLLODI Raffaela Fiorillo Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Aversa (CE), Italy Email- [email protected] Abstract: Villa Garzoni, with an adjoining monumental garden, is located on the slopes of the ancient medieval village of Collodi, dating back to the end of the 12th century. The construction was designed for the Marquis Romano Garzoni, perhaps also the first architect of the garden, who are the main attraction of the Villa. Key-words: Architecture, medieval village, Tuscany, Italian Garden. 1. INTRODUCTION: COLLODI DI CASTELLO E LA FAMIGLIA GARZONI In the ancient village of Collodi Castello, a small fraction of the municipality of Pescia in the province of Pistoia, there is a fascinating medieval village, a place where nature and art form a unique whole that perfectly embodies the eighteenth-century taste in a fairytale dimension: it is the complex of Villa Garzoni and its baroque garden [1]. Country of origin of the mother of Carlo Lorenzini, who took his pseudonym from it, Carlo Collodi, it is a very popular destination for tourists, attracted by the Pinocchio park built in the 1950s and by the "toy town" completed in the second mid-60s, inspired by the adventures of the famous puppet (“Fig. 1”). With the invasion of the Goths, the village took on the appearance of a fortified castle and maintained its stratification even with the invasion of the Longobard people. For many centuries, the town was disputed between the city of Florence and Lucca, until 20 October 1442 when it was conquered by the Lucchesi [2] but in the twentieth century the town passed definitively to the province of Pistoia (“Fig. 2-3”). “Fig.1” Sculptures in the Pinocchio park in Collodi International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 32 Raffaela Fiorillo “Fig.1” View of the Villa Garzoni of 1633 with the village of Castello behind it and the enclosed land to its right. The villa and the garden are still to be expanded with respect to the current form. “Fig.2” The village of Collodi at present. The history of the Garzoni family is closely linked to the events in the town of Collodi, following the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines for possession of the International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 AN 18TH CENTURY ENCHANTEMENT: VILLA GARZONI IN COLLODI 33 Valdinievole, a region in the south-western Province of Pistoia. It was a powerful family from Pescia, belonging to the faction of the Ghibellines who, following the defeat of the latter, were stolen their assets and forced into exile in Lucca. The first bond between the Garzoni and Collodi family was created when Giovanni Garzoni, captain in the service of the Scaligeri and Visconti, acquired several lands from the monasteries of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce in Valdarno. The family, after making their fortune in Lucca, had obtained a significant reputation and decided to return to the Pistoia area and build the villa, the work of the Marquis Romano Garzoni, which had an exalting function of the popularity achieved and still remains one of the most spectacular in the area [3]. 2. LA VILLA DELLE “CENTO FINESTRE” E IL SUO GIARDINO An example of a noble residence in the Baroque style, the villa was built in a dominant position with respect to the landscape, as if to cover the village. The first news of the construction dates back to 1633 and the design of both the villa and the historic garden are the work of Romano di Alessandro Garzoni who succeeded in designing a building that stands out in the landscape for its refined elegance and grandeur. The first source that describes in detail the seventeenth-century location of the complex is the work of the poet Francesco Sbarra, Le Pompe di Collodi of 1652 [4]. The villa built before the garden, with a grandiose façade, is on 5 levels and is connected to the garden by two flights of steps which contribute to amplifying the scenographic effect. Precisely for this reason it is called "of the hundred windows", considering its considerable size and the presence of many rooms with windows (“Fig. 4”). “Fig.4” Main facade of Villa Garzoni, Collodi. The first floor of the villa - the only one that can be visited - houses the main rooms, dining room, a ballroom, various bedrooms and other rooms and are decorated with stuccoes and frescoes [5] (“Fig. 5”). International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 34 Raffaela Fiorillo “Fig.5” Detail of the interior of the villa decorated with frescoes and stuccos. The garden is the strong point of the villa. The access area is in the shape of an overturned bell and surrounded by a wall surrounded by cypresses and box hedges. Arranged on terraced floors, it is characterized by an imposing double flight of steps and a complex hydraulic system that created water features in the past centuries. The villa International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 AN 18TH CENTURY ENCHANTEMENT: VILLA GARZONI IN COLLODI 35 ended near the lake, in the pavilion of the baths, or Bagnetti, where the ladies and knights could relax, away from prying eyes (“Fig. 6”). “Fig.6” Plan of the site in 1692. Villa Garzoni, Collodi. The garden, starting from the seventies of the seventeenth century, takes on a mystical- allegorical connotation, but no trace will remain there; in fact, Alessandro Garzoni, Romano's nephew and heir, commissioned the Turin architect Filippo Juvarra to modernize the garden. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 36 Raffaela Fiorillo The project for the Clock Building, or Summer Building, also dates from the same period, built according to Juvarra's idea, albeit with some changes (“Fig. 7”). Ottaviano Diodati also collaborates in the realization, who designs the two large tanks to collect all the water present at the entrance to the garden, enriched by water lilies and jets [6]. The theme of water dominating the garden scene. Located in the center of the terrace called “viale delle palma” is the grotto of Neptune, a vast octagonal-shaped room all covered with sponges and vaulted. A third curved double-flight staircase leads to the third shelf where the Bosco di Lecci is located, cut lengthwise by a chain of water that starts from a tuff basin where the statue of Fame stands out, from here two water chains start, at sides of an artificial cliff populated by animals and plants, where the theme of metamorphosis is re-proposed [7]. The disappearance of the Garzoni family, in the 1920s, led the Collodi complex to undergo several changes of ownership, until the acquisition in recent times by a real estate company which in 2004 began major restorations of the villa with the its outbuildings and the garden, which in 2007 was enriched with the Butterfly House, a greenhouse that reproduces the tropical environment where many species of butterflies fly free. “Fig.7” Palazzina dell'Orologio, building designed by Filippo Juvarra. Villa Garzoni, Collodi. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 AN 18TH CENTURY ENCHANTEMENT: VILLA GARZONI IN COLLODI 37 “Fig.8” Italian garden in the park of Villa Garzoni, Collodi, 3. CONCLUSIONS The complex of the Villa and the Garzoni Garden represents an episode known for its historical, architectural, and botanical importance. Here the link between myth and history reigns, between time and nature, everything seems to live as it did then. Telling the story kept in the Garden of Villa Garzoni, next to that of Pinocchio, means encouraging visitors to return to discover aspects and characters, which may not have been revealed immediately, or even to discover new ones. REFERENCES: [1] Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico UTET, volume V, fourth edition. Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Torino, 1994, 312. [2] Fasolo G. Storia di Giovanni Villani cittadino fiorentino, per Bartholomeo Zanetti Casterzagense. Florence, 1587, 620. [3] Antonio marchese Mazzarosa. Storia di Lucca dalla sua origine fino al MDCCCXIV, first tome. Giusti, 1833, 192. [4] Martelli S. Giardino Garzoni, Collodi: guida alla visita. Alinea Editrice, Florence, 2002, 10-11. [5] Sbarra F. Le Pompe di Collodi Delitiosissima Villa del Signor Cavalier Romano Garzoni. Lucca, 1652. [6] H. D. Eberlein. Villas of Florence and Tuscany. J.B. Lippincott, 1922, 385-389. [7] Valentini. Il Restauro del Giardino di Villa Garzoni a Collodi. In Luoghi e paesaggi in Italia, Florence, 2004, 331-337. A. Bechini. Evoluzione storica del giardino Garzoni a Collodi attraverso lo studio della struttura idrica. In bollettino ingegneri n.8-9, 2001, 11-18. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Research (IJMSR) Volume-1, Issue-1; May-August, 2021 .