This villa, originally called “Villa Fortunata,” was built by Armando Raggio, a member of the prosperous Ligurian bourgeoisie, between 1882 and 1885, based on a design by the Genoese architect Luigi Rovelli. It is surrounded by a vast park (about 60,000 square meters), characterized by a great variety of distinctive plant species, making it a fine example of what is called a “Mediterranean imported garden.” In this park stands the small theater, which represents a rare and curious example of its kind, practically connecting two wings of greenhouses whose structure of concrete, cast iron, and glass is very similar to that of the large nurseries common in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. Small in scale, corresponding (notes Giovanna Pesci in Liberty in Emilia) to the private needs of an enlightened bourgeois family “that replicated aristocratic customs by offering guests and themselves both knowledge and entertainment.” The theater consists of a masonry stage, whose proscenium arch still shows traces of floral decorations, and an auditorium characterized by a glass structure and a barrel vault of wood and iron supported by ten cast iron columns. A curved molding separates the two roofed areas: iron for the audience seats, tiles for the stage, suggesting with its curved shape the period of construction, which can be placed between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Undoubtedly, this structure—which we emphasize is very rare and unique—is still in a rather precarious state of conservation, although several major interventions have prevented its loss. At the end of the 1980s, the Municipality of Pontenure acquired both the villa and the park. The park was restored and made accessible, so that during the good season various events take place there, including sports activities (for example, archery competitions) as well as musical and theatrical performances. Architect Otello Mazzei drafted a restoration project for both the villa and the theater, which has been partially carried out. The restored villa now houses the Civic Library, while the greenhouse and its related theater have been partially restored, with the glass panes and roofs repaired. (Lidia Bortolotti)
Information on Villa Raggio Theater
Villa Raggio Park,
29010 Pontenure (Piacenza)
Source: MIBACT
