Since 1998, the villa of the painter Pompeo Mariani (Monza 1857 – Bordighera 1927), with its park and the atelier called La Specola, has been an atelier and house-museum open to the public, showcasing works, collections, and objects of the artist, and housing the homonymous Foundation. Built in 1885 based on a design by architect Charles Garnier, it took on its current form starting in 1909, after its acquisition by Pompeo Mariani and the expansions necessary to equip it with a large atelier, entrusted to architect Rudolf Winter. Today, after significant restoration and reorganization, visitors have the opportunity to appreciate the refined finishes and furnishings, designed by the leading applied arts authors of the time. Among them Giovanni Lomazzi, cabinetmaker Eugenio Quarti, and Alessandro Mazzucotelli: he created the beautiful wrought iron balcony built in 1911 for the south side of the villa. The atelier, originally conceived by the painter not only as a workspace but also as a place to gather his countless art collections (rugs, porcelain, majolica, antique clothes, weapons, etc.), has been reassembled with its authentic furnishings and work tools and is counted among the major artist ateliers from the 19th and 20th centuries open to visitors worldwide. Note the park, rich with centuries-old olive trees and exotic plants, a surviving part of the historic “Giardino Moreno,” considered at the time one of the botanical wonders of the Riviera. Claude Monet painted here in 1884 some of his masterpieces: ‘Study of Olive Plants,’ ‘Garden in Bordighera,’ ‘Impressions of the Morning.’
Information about Villa Mariani
Via Fontana Vecchia, 5 and 7
18012 Bordighera (Imperia)
0184/265556
fond.pmariani@tiscali.it
https://www.fondazionepompeomariani.com
Source: MIBACT
