This villa, originally called "Villa Fortunata", was built by Armando Raggio, belonging to the good Ligurian bourgeoisie, between 1882 and 1885, based on a project by the Genoese Luigi Rovelli. It is surrounded by a vast park (about 60.000 square metres) characterized by the great wealth of particular plant essences, which make it a fine example of what is defined as a Mediterranean-type "imported garden". In this park stands the little theatre, which constitutes a rare and curious example of its kind, it practically connects two wings of greenhouses whose structure in concrete, cast iron and glass is entirely similar to that of the large nurseries widespread in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. Of small proportions, responding (as Giovanna Pesci points out in Liberty in Emilia) to the private needs of an enlightened bourgeois family "that replicated aristocratic customs in offering guests and themselves knowledge together with entertainment". The theater consists of a masonry stage, the proscenium arch of which retains traces of floral decorations, and an auditorium characterized by a glass structure and a wooden and iron barrel vault supported by ten cast iron columns. A curvilinear molding separates the two roofing areas: the iron stalls and the stage in tiles, suggesting with its curvilinear shape the construction period which dates back to the end of the XNUMXth century and the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Without a doubt this structure which, we would like to underline, is very rare and particular, is still in a rather precarious state of conservation, although a series of important interventions have averted its loss. At the end of the XNUMXs the Municipality of Pontenure purchased both the villa and the park, the latter has been restored and made usable so much so that in good weather various initiatives take place there, both of a sporting nature (for example shooting competitions 'arc) as well as musical and theatrical events. The architect Otello Mazzei drew up a project for the restoration of both the villa and the partially implemented theatre. The Civic Library was moved to the restored villa while the greenhouse and its theater were partially restored with the restoration of the windows and roofs. (Lidia Bortolotti)
Information on the Villa Raggio Theatre
Park of Villa Raggio,
29010 Pontenure (Piacenza)
Source: MIBACT