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Italy, Tuscany

Tuscany
Italy

Property for sale: $5,036,000 USD

Villa For Sale in Tuscany, Italy

This remarkably elegant villa is the symbol of Lucchese villa architecture. It is the most well-known of all the villas in the area despite it not being highly representative of the classical 16th century style.

This remarkably elegant villa is the symbol of Lucchese villa architecture. It is the most well-known of all the villas in the area despite it not being highly representative of the classical 16th century style. The greater part of the work done on this finely and intricately decorated villa as we see it today can be attributed to Muzio Oddi, the architect from Urbino who had been summoned to Lucca to design the third and final ring of walls around the town. Countess Felice Cenami, who was the owner of the villa at the time, called on Oddi in the mid-1630s to completely renovate the building on the advice of her brother-in-law, Paolo, who at the time was a monk in Paris. So it is thanks to this architect, a stranger to Lucca and its local culture, that Villa Mansi and the nearby Villa Santini Torrigiani built in the same period are so different from the other Lucchese 16th-century villas whose style is so much more austere. These villas boast an elegance somewhat more in line with the elegant and refined taste of the period and can be seen as the prelude to the splendour and magnificence of that baroque style that never flourished in Lucca. Many other hands beautified the villa and its gardens during the 17th century. The Mansi family became the owners in 1675 and a member of their family is the protagonist of one of the most mysterious and fascinating legends in local culture. Lucida Mansi, a sort of female Faust, made a pact with the devil and sold her soul in exchange for eternal beauty. However, when called upon to honour him she was sent tumbling down off the Walls in her carriage by Evil. Ottavio Mansi entrusted Filippo Iuvarra, the great architect from Messina and a leading exponent of late European baroque style, with the layout of the gardens and the renovation of the grounds. The original Renaissance plan was completely altered giving way to an elaborate and very effective display of playing fountains, fish ponds, pathways and ever-changing perspectives which were without rival in the entire area. Most of Iuvarra's work was undone in the 1800s when the gardens were completely remodelled and left in their natural state. A visit to the interior - across the loggia and into the large reception room - is indeed quite evocative.

Property Summary

Offered by		Owner
Features		Terrace, Patio, Ocean View, Just Above Blue Grotto, Looking Directly To The Gulf Of Naples, Make An Offer, Surrounding Lot Of Olive Trees Is 1033 M2, Reduced Asking Price (1,600,000 Euros),