Archive for 'Museums & Galleries'

The Palazzo Ducale is the most famous building in Urbino and one of the most impressive and beautiful Renaissance palaces in Italy. It is now also home to the National Gallery of Le Marche as well. Therefore, it's a bit of a package deal when you visit, offering a stunning combination of both art and architecture. Listed as a UNESCO, world heritage site, it is not only acknowledged as unique and important by locals but is recognised as an extra special site in this world. If you are interested in art, architecture, history or merely getting lost in the majesty of the past and court culture, then the Palazzo Ducale is somewhere you won't want to miss. Why not find a villa with pool in Le Marche and take a day to explore this most beautiful of sights in Urbino?

The Casina delle Civette, or House of the Owls, was the home of Prince Giovanni Torlonia until his death in 1938. The building was originally constructed in the nineteenth century as a “Swiss Cabin” pleasure building on the edge of the grounds of the ancestral home of Villa Torlonia. These types of buildings were used by the aristocracy across Europe to retreat from formal court life in their homes and play at simplicity. The building was designed by Giuseppe Jappelli in 1840 for Prince Alessandro Torlonia to look like a rustic dwelling. However, in the twentieth century, when his nephew, Giovanni, got his hands on the structure it became increasingly elaborate. It was transformed from a cottage into a medieval hamlet.

Baia, in the Campania region of the south of Italy was once the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire where anything went and parties were had. A prominent resort city for centuries, the town was dedicated to the recreational whims of rich and powerful Romans looking to blow off a little steam. In fact, some of the most famous and influential figures of antiquity are known to have visited on multiple occasions, with some even building holiday homes there. Among these was Nero, Cicero and Caesar. This all came to a grinding halt when the town was sacked by invading Saracens. By 1500, it was completely abandoned and the water level slowly rose so that the land was reclaimed by the sea.

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?

The Museo di Capodimonte, or Museum of Capodimonte, is an art museum in Naples, Campania. Located in the Palazzo di Capodimonte, originally a hunting lodge and summer residence of the kings of the Two Sicilies, it brings together Neapolitan, Italian and ancient Roman art and decorative art.

The National Gallery occupies the first and second floors and the royal apartments elsewhere in the building are furnished with 18th century furniture and a collection of porcelain from the various royal residences.

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