Viareggio Villas

Viareggio villas really are a rich architectonic patrimony, paying attention to its evolution over the course of the secular history of the Lucchese state so you will find information on accessible or at least visible historic villas present in the Lucca’s Province. During the Renaissance period the villas were both places for recreation and active agricultural enterprise closely linked to that production of silk which had made a fortune for the rich Lucchese merchants.

The villa has an articulated base and consists of a "piano mobile" and a basement which is taken up by utility rooms. The main facade, which faces onto via Buonarotti, is characterised by a forepart which consists of an open veranda portico with stone pillars and wooden chancel screens to which access is gained by way of a double ramped monumental staircase. The other facades are characterised by a face in facing brick which frames a series of depressed arch doors and windows with architraves and archivolts.

With its conformation, which is characterised by pine and Holm-oak forest trees, the garden was originally made to be an ideal continuation of the pine forest opposite. But the villa is a private property and cannot be visited inside.

The construction was part of a more articulated project which incorporated three small villas designed by Oreste Lenci in 1914. The building is a private property and it can’t be visited inside.

The building has a facade characterised by a vertical structure which incorporates architectonic and decorative tympanum: is created by the juxtaposition of simple volumes.

Villa Puccini

Villa Il Guscio

The architecture and the handmade decoration of Villa Argentina, can be considered as the most important expression of Modernist style in all throughout Versilia. Galileo Chini’s ceramics adorn its facades.

In the lounge’s interior on the ground floor a large painted cloth triptych covers the entire wall. It depicts a “Persian marriage” which takes place in an oriental background. The painting realised in 1930 are the work of the painter Giuseppe Biasi which reveals a descriptive taste paying attention to every minimum clothing and posture detail.

The building plan which was endorsed by the master builder Serafino Ramacciotti in 1915, presents orderly classical architecture which is characterised by simple symmetrical façades upon which the ceramic frieze is the innovative element in keeping with the style of that time.

A typical example of this is the decoration of the small villa: the small cupids, which are spaced with geometric panels which recall the deco style, bear festoons laden with flowers and are outlined by a well defined contour in accordance with the diktat of Modernist graphics. The building is a private property and cannot be visited inside.

The Villa is surrounded by an enclosure with a monumental gate looking onto via dei Tigli. The building consists of a three floored central body and two wings spanning over two floors which flank it on the north and south sides. The perpendicular arms at the end of the wings are of equal height; the north one includes the stalls and the mausoleum where the royal family of Lucca and ancestor were buried while the southern arm hosts staff quarters and store rooms. The composition of facades reflects themes which are very dear to Lorenzo Nottolini and are also applied to the 19th century wing of the Palazzo of Lucca.

Even though the building underwent continual and notable changes since it was first constructed and throughout the 1800’s, it presents itself as a calibrated and balanced palazzo, with characteristics of a typical country residence. In fact the villa never was an official residence: at first it was used as a hunting lodge and then as an owner house in farming state. Finally it was used as a summer residence of middle-class.

Despite the large dimensions of the palace, there are no large halls. Instead there are small rooms with a typical middle-class air, where the Borbon family spent their time. The garden is organised with flower beds and is cheered up with a water pool and two marble statues. The rest of the garden conforms the romantic style park featuring wide central avenues and little woods, pathways and clearings with seats. A semi-circular area surrounded by little woods marks the end of the state at the palace’s back.

Villa Crastan appertains to the oldest stretch of the boulevards on the seafront. The building was realised during the second half of 19th century and it has facades of classical composition, characterised by a symmetrical layout of the openings on the first and second floors.

Like the small Sofia villa, Crastan villa was also modernised by Galileo Chini in 1920 in keeping with the new Art Nouveau styles. The classical facades were enriched with ceramic decorations produced by Chini in Borgo San Lorenzo. In addition the building is a private property and cannot be visited inside.

Villa Borbone

Villa Crastan

Realised in 1912 by Professor Enrico Nistri, the building constitutes the most accomplished and important example in the town of architecture inspired by strictly oriental themes. The minute detail of the Islamic repertoires can be seen on the built-in panels, the moulding, the crowning decoration of the building, in the use of colours, on the wooden corbels which support the projecting parts, on the balconies, in the decorations on the surrounding wall, in the wrought iron and in the complex effect of the profiles and materials. The villa is a private property and cannot be visited inside.

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