VILLA ZIRIO - SAN
REMO
Historical and
artistic analysis of an ancient "villa". (courtesy
of the San Remo tourist office)
Villa Zirio, is one of the most important historical villas of San Remo,
located in Corso Cavallotti, close to Bellevue Palace, was built in 1870. The
project was made by Architect Bérengier from Marseilles, after the order by the
lawyer Giovanni Battista Zirio, who gave his name to the villa, and works were
given out by contract to Curti and Gilbert. The majestic garden, which stretches
at the feet of the villa, was created after the project of Architect Ludovico
Winter from Bordighera and attended by gardeners Pin and Gullino, who had
already been suppliers of the Duke of Aosta. The garden owes its fame to the
extreme accuracy of its good state and the great richness of its nurseries.
The façade of the building, made of white marble and stones of Arles, is
characterized by a central loggia with two tasteful lateral stairs. The slim
columns of the loggia support a wide terrace located on the second floor of the
villa. The façade is endowed also with a corner ashlar-work, pilaster strips,
very sober decorative marks to windows and to floor levels which, together with
an harmonic tympanum, give a symmetric equilibrium to the building structure.
The main entrance to the "piano nobile" of the villa is located at
the center of the eastern façade. The first wonderful hall can be entered
through the first door on the left. It is a splendid room, endowed with
Louis-XIV furniture, in which civil marriages are celebrated. The center of the
vaulted roof of this hall, soberly decorated by means of elegant gilt stuccoes,
holds a magnificent fresco by the Genoese painter Francesco Semino representing
Benvenuto Cellini at the Court of Francis the First King of France, consisting
of six graceful figures painted in bright colors and marked by a strong intimate
character of tones drawn from the school of the Genoese "grays", to
which he belonged too. Four medallions, always painted by Semino, are located
around the central fresco. They represent allegories of arts: Painting,
Sculpture, Architecture and Music, in perfect harmony with the main fresco.
Adjacent to this room there is a Pompeian-, Moorish- and Neo-Renaissance-style
party hall. In origin it contained two wonderful paintings by the Genoese
painter Giovanni Battista Novaro. The wall in front of the balcony of the villa
balcony is characterized by an elegant fire-place surmounted by a magnificent
looking-glass surrounded by a rich frame.
The third room is a Renaissance-style hall which contains a painting by Semino
representing Abundance, a graceful figure pouring flowers and fruit from a
cornucopia to some putti and cupids. The four lunettes are enriched by "The
4 Seasons", a Semino's painting consisting of different splendid figures.
Adjacent to this hall there is an oriental-style room, formerly called
"billiard room".
The wide entrance hall, with a marble floor, leads to the great staircase, in
marble too, in whose well one of the first lift produced by the firm
Stigler-Otis is located. At this time, the second floor of the villa, which
contains another wonderful painting by Semino ("The Spring"), is the
seat of the Aldemanship of Tourism and Manifestations of the Municipality of
Sanremo and of the Observatory for Plants Diseases of the Ligurian District,
while the third floor is occupied by the Symphonic Orchestra, the Tourist
Promotion Department and by private flats.
Another door, located in the entrance hall, leads to the basements of the
villa, which, time ago, held various kitchens, linen-rooms and premises.
The woodworks of the villa were made by Gemy (Marseilles) and later oil-painted
by Revertegat; wall-papers were supplied by Saissi (Nice), precious furniture by
factories Boyer (Marseilles) and Bolis (Milan), while the bronze gas plant was
made by the factory Barbedienne (Paris). The great wrought-iron banisters were
realized by Mario Meiffren.
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