Gardens in Tuscany | Villa Borbone delle Pianore

Villa Borbone delle Pianore

The Villa Borbone della Pianore is composed of three buidings, each one belonging to a different period. The north wing was built in 1964, the central body is dated to the end of the 18th century, and the south wing originates from the end of the 19th century.
The central body, which is the oldest part of the villa, is modest in its dimensions and is fruit of the restructuring of a mill. The Duchesse of Lucca, Maria Teresa di Savoia who was also the wife of Carlo Ludovico di Borbone converted it into a villa. A chapel was attatched to the building and many changes were made to it during the 1800's. Today, it has a curious neo-renaissance façade which was realised using a structure of painted wood with an architraved entrance, tympanumand a carved lunette which simulates the ceramics of Della Robbia. The structure was realised in 1893 on the occasion of the marriage of one of the Duke of Borbone's daughters. Inside there is a 17th century wooden altar, originating from the chapel of the Villa della Rinchiostra belonging to the Cybo Malaspina family.
The south facing 19th century building, is an impressive three floored structure which picks up on some architectural themes typical of the renaissance period. This is evident from itsashlars decoration, the curved tympanums above the windows and the plan of the building which has an indented central corpus. Its internal decoration is well preserved. There are caissons, damasks on the walls, stuccos and polychrome marbles.
The park, realised at the same time as the 19th century building, is extremely interesting as its vegetation presents a mixture of autochthonous and exotic herbs. Among them can be found ginkgo biloba, varies types of palms, sequoia, the liriodendron, the Olea Fragrans, the Os Manthus Ilicifolius, the Macula, and the Maonia.

The oldest building belonged to the Orsucci family who gave it up to Maria Teresa of Savoia in 1826. The Lucchese architect Domenico Martini worked on the the villa from 1878 to 1888. He was commissioned by Roberto di Borbone, the nephew of the Duke of Lucca, Carlo Ludovico and realised the impressive three floored building as well as the changes to the 16th century chapel. In 1893, on the occasion of the marriage of Maria Luisa, daughter of Roberto di Borbone to Prince Ferdinando I of Bulgaria, the wooden façade of the church was constructed. The layout of the park, coeval with the Martini construction, is the work of the architect and landscape painter Dechamps. In 1952 the Borbone family gave the villa up to the religious congregation Scuole di Carità Cavanis, and was used as a school. In order to accommodate the students of this boarding school, the north block was built in 1964 under the guidance of the architect Tempesta.

Along the Via Sarzanese in the stretch from Monte di Quiesa towardsCapezzano in Pianore, we find in succession five Villas that are worth a visit, Villa Gobbi Benelli, Villa Cenami, Villa Lorien, Villa Paolina a Compignano and Villa Le Pianore.

Villa Borbone delle Pianore

The ultimate Italy Villa Rental. Podere Santa Pia, a formal cloister in the Tuscan Maremma with a view made in heaven is the perfect holiday resort for relaxing and enjoying the splendor of the Maremma hills of southern Tuscany. Artist and writer's residency \| Holiday houses in Tuscany \| Podere Santa Pia


Podere Santa Pia	Podere Santa Pia, view from the garden on the valley below	L'Orto de'Pecci


Villa Catignano	Villa Monaciano	Monterriggioni
The Surroundings of Lucca boast an unique "Villas Landscape". The Villas, or rather the palaces in villa, are historical country residences that the Lucchesi merchants built between the 15th and 19th centuries, investing the fruits of their business and banking activities in central Europe. More than three hundred Villas, large and small, are spread out over the arc of hills that both defines and brings to a close the geographical bounds of the Plain of Lucca. Among them: Villa Reale di Marlia, Villa Grabau, Villa Bernardini, Villa Oliva, Villa Mansi, Villa Borbone delle Pianore and Villa di Carmigliano. 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. Afterwards when they turned towards financial activities, the villas maintained an important economic role as financial guarantees of solvency. With the decadence of the Lucchese Republic, the villas exclusively became places of magnificence that bore witness to the prestige of its owners. In more recent times after the unification of Italy, you can note, especially in Versilia and the immediate surroundings of Lucca, the flourishing of new constructions in Art Nouveau style, private residences which respond to the needs of the new industrial society. Lucca The Palazzo Mediceo of Seravezza is a residence of the Medici family and does not belong to the cultural framework of the Lucchese villas from the renaissance period . Infact, Seravezza, which is a very important centre for marble extraction, today belongs to the province of Lucca but was not part of it in the 1500's. The building presents itself as a fortified palace and was to serve as a resting place for the Duke when he came to visit the caves.The building consists of three main bodies which mark the limits of a courtyard which is closed off by a wall on the south wing. The main entrance door is on the wall, which when opened, gives access to a courtyard with a portico and a well. The structure of the palace has a disguised defensive form i.e. the east and west wings jutt out from the north façade and the south wall of the courtyard almost forming towers, but they don't exceed the height of the remainder of the building. The palace is very sober in its composition. The use of marble in the cornices of the windows should not be considered a sign of splendour as there was an abundance of marble in Seravezza. Today, the public library andthe Museum of work and popular traditions of historic Versilia Important contemporary and modern art exhibitions are also held here. The work involved in the construction of this palace, comissioned by Cosimo I of the Medicea family, starter in 1561 and was completed in 1565. The identity of the architect is not clear. Buselli argues that Buontalenti was the architect responsible for the palace given strong similarities found in the later Villa di Artimino. However, Belli Barsali is inclined to believe that the architect is Ammannati due to the design of the cornices in the windows and the use of wide and narrow ashlars on the corners and the main entrance. Belli Barsali also highlights a similarity between the plan of the palace of Seravezza and that of palazzo Pitti, where Ammannanti worked between 1559 and 1568. The palace hosts the Museum of work and popular traditions in the historic Versilia. The ticket price also includes access to the modern and cotemporary art exhibitons which are set up on the Nobile floor of the Palazzo Mediceo.
Sources: Archivio APT Lucca and from Lucca e le sue Terre by Provincia di Lucca. This site can be considered the best and complete site about Lucca. Lands of Lucca and Versilia \| Terre di Lucca e di Versilia \| www.luccaterre.it