Description
Rif. 3019 INTRODUCTION
The villa, designed by the engineer Carlo Cartier from Livorno, was built between 1896 and 1898. Its style combines Gothic, Renaissance and Moorish styles. The tower, the crenels, the ashlar, the windows and the acute arched friezes, the columnar loggia, reflects the eclecticism that during the second half of the nineteenth century characterized in Europe some of the most important houses of the rich bourgeoisie and nobility.
The roofs, made of red tiles are slightly inclined and resembles the style of some alpine buildings. An elegant openwork friezewhich decorates the wall of the central part of the house is repeated in the arches of all the doors and windows,even in the inner courtyard. Three of the four wrought iron gates whichgive access to the villa, are supported by turrets surmounted by acroterions. The main gate is supported by two original ancient towers as two guards placement. The two towers, as you can see from the photo, have two pointed arched windows with ornamental friezes and are on the main street.
Despite the heterogeneity of the elements, the designer achieved a harmonious, balanced and original result, so much that the villa was reproduced on postcards as an example of the most beautiful ones ,also to show the beauties of Modica.
THE STRUCTURE
The house extends over 2000 sqm and consists of a main house, a large parkgarden, dependencies, the hunter's cottage, a large courtyard. Through some stairs with old stone balustrade you reach the entrance at the base of the tower, the living room is on the right, the dining room on the left. At the bottom of the entrance, a decorated glass doorleads to a room lighted by an above loggia which connects all the other rooms. The loggia is lighted by polychrome glass and decorated with pale floral decorations. A side stairs leads to the loggia lighted by huge windows on the garden. Thepart of the house reserved to the owners, located on the mezzanine floor, is divided into twelve rooms with several otherservices rooms. An internal staircase leads to the loggia and to the contiguous "parterre" placed on the first floor.
On the ground floor of the house, there is a terrace with stairs which lead to the garden and the orchard.
A large courtyard northwest, connects the house to the dependencies and can be used as car park.
The dependancies include: the servants' rooms, the washrooms, the kitchens, the shed, the barn, the huntersroom. In the years some parts have been anne