Archive for 'Architectural Gems'

Napoleon's Edict of Saint-Cloud forbade burials within churches and towns in 1804. Up until that point, people clamoured to be buried on the grounds of the churches that they had attended all their lives but room was swiftly running out and the bodies were unhelpful to the outbreaks of disease and plague that occurred over the centuries. A cholera epidemic, and sudden multiplying of the death-toll, in 1835 further hastened the move to have bodies buried in monumental cemeteries on the outskirts of towns. These same concerns were what led to the establishment of great park cemeteries in Paris and London but lesser known is the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa.

The Fiat Lingotto Factory in Turin was built in the 1920s and was the largest and most modern car manufacturing plant in Europe and second in the world at the time. It is five storeys high with a test track atop the roof and cars were moved upwards from floor to floor to be tested on the track when completed. The factory was eventually closed in 1982 but, thankfully, didn't fall into ruin as such places usually do. In 1985, it was converted and made into a multi-purpose centre that still retained the original architectural identity of the structure. It is now used commercially by various companies and businesses and is readily accessible to the public. If you want to see this amazing roof-top track for yourself, find a villa with pool in Piedmont and make your way to Turin.

The Arab-Norman architecture of Palermo is a collection of buildings and monuments with design and decorative features that came about from an intertwining of cultures. Sicily's history is a tale of a long succession of rulers from a variety of places and cultures. Sicily was especially influenced by the Islamic conquest (827-1091) of lands in what is now Italy and then by how this combined with Norman rule (1071-1194). Alongside Byzantine influences, this led to a multi-ethnic culture that saw Western and Islamic cultures combined in art and architecture among other areas. Find a luxury villa in Sicily and you could see it for yourself!

Villa Jovis is a site on Capri at the end of the Viale Amedeo Maiuri which houses the ruins of a villa from the first century B.C. which is attributed to the Roman Emperor, Tiberius. Perched on a cliff-top, it now provides visitors with astounding views but once afforded its occupants both privacy and security. Once the largest and most sumptuous of the twelve Roman villas on the island, it is now reduced to ruins, though a considerable percentage still survives. In fact, the amount of survival from the original complex means that the visitor centre has reliable reproductions of what it might have looked like.

The Villa Manin at Passariano in Codroipo, Friuli Venezia Giulia is a Venetian villa with a fascinating history that now houses a gallery and regularly hosts exhibitions, events and, even holds concerts on the grounds. It was built in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the Manin family, from whom it takes its name. Between the stunning grounds which surround, the history, the iconic architecture, the extensive collections and once-off exhibitions, range of events and concerts, its somewhere where you'll never be stuck for things to do. Why not find a villa with pool in Friuli Venezia Giulia and visit for yourself?