Tuesday, September 18, 2018

A Tale of Two Women



At the moment I am slowly exploring the Po Valley area around Mantua.

Recently I visited a newly restored castle in an out of the way place called San Giovanni in Croce. In this small village stands a recently restored castle, Villa Medici del Vascello. Google Maps Steet View still show it as a ruin and seeing it in its restored state is quite exhilarating.
Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce
Like many castles it started out as a military installation but with time became a stately home. It was a lady called Cecilia Gallerani a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who turned the castle into a stately home after retiring to this village after the death of her husband. 
Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce
A woman of great charm and refined intelligence, she animated a small Renaissance court, hosting and entertaining artists and writers of the Lombard Renaissance. She is famous for featuring in a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, The Lady with an Ermine.

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce
The period of maximum splendor was in the nineteenth century, when Giuseppe Soresina-Vidoni, a prince of the Austrian Empire, laid out the large park that develops to the rear of the Villa for an area of 12 hectares. It is an English garden, which was in fashion at the time, where we find a panoramic lake with sinuous shapes and various buildings in different styles. 
Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce

Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce
Another lady was responsible for its decay into a ruin. The last noble owner was a widow called Marchese Maria Carolina Vidoni Soranzo in Medici del Vascello[ who was a fervent supporter of Fascism and lover of the Fascist leader Roberto Farinacci. Despite being popular with the inhabitants of the village and by all accounts quite harmless, she was assassinated by the Partisans in 1945. The Villa then passed hands steadily falling into ruin.
Villa Medici del Vascello,San Giovanni in Croce
The Commune who acquired the palace in 2005 have done a good job with the restauration.

On the way back, I stopped off at another castle that was closing. They let me take a couple of shots from the garden. A place that I have added to my list of places to visit. 
Castello Mina Della Scala, Cremona