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Sonia Vallese Technical Director Assorestauro
Between past and future of an Italian leisure villa. The restoration of Villa Arconati gardens WHERE ART MEETS NATURE
restauro.zanotti@gmail.com www.magistrirestauro.it
Fig 1. The complex of Villa Arconati from an engraving by Marcantonio Dal Re 1743 Fig 2. Gioco Maestro - The Water Tower behind the orangery which allows the fountains in the garden to function
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Starting from the sixteenth century, the Lombard nobility, thanks to a favourable economic development and political calm, began to design le ville di delizia, holiday resorts in locations outside the cities, along rivers or in hilly areas, that offered a healthy environment far from human presence. The countryside around Milan is rich in a heritage of architecture and gardens that tell us about a sumptuous lifestyle but in search of contact with nature. Villa Arconati is one of the historic villas of the Groane Park, located in Bollate, on the outskirts of Milan. Originally born as an agricultural centre for the management of the surrounding countryside, after the purchase of the property by the Arconati family, great art lovers, the area is transformed. In 1621 the owner Galeazzo Arconati, after returning home from Rome, organized the integrated planning between villa, landscape and garden, based on examples of Roman and Florentine villas, introducing theatres and water games inspired by the studies of Leonardo da Vinci. The villa becomes a so-called delizie used as a residence in the summer and for the hunting season, to welcome illustrious guests and spend these moments of leisure. The garden of Villa Arconati was conceived since its construction as a monumental Italian garden (Fig 1). Here we find sculptures showing the classic myths, a geometric subdivision of spaces through rows of trees and hedges, gushing water fountains, berceaux, theatres
