Villa Giusti

Villa Giusti - west facade (1967), photo by Paolo Monti

The Villa Giusti or Villa Giusti del Giardino is a country estate in northern Italy located on the south-western outskirts of Padua . On November 3, 1918, the armistice of Villa Giusti was signed here, which ended the First World War on the Italian-Austrian front. The villa is still preserved today.

location

The villa is located in the Herd at from Padua to Abano Terme leading Strada provinciale SP 2 about 4.5 km from the city center. The spacious park-like property is bordered to the east by Canale Battaglia .

history

The villa and the neighboring Villa Molin belonged to the Capodilista family until the middle of the 18th century. Possibly it was a simple farmhouse on this extensive country estate, which was first converted into a guest house and then into a residence in the 18th century. After several changes of ownership, it came into the possession of Count Francesco Giusti del Giardino , Mayor of Padua and Senator of the Kingdom , at the beginning of the 20th century . After his death, he bequeathed the villa to his wife and second cousin, Countess Giulia Bianchini d'Alberigo, whose great-grandchildren are the current owners.

Today, in the park that was created in 1870, a mixture of English and Italian gardens , there are several differently oriented and partly interconnected buildings. At the beginning of the 20th century the park was expanded again and now measures around 7 hectares. More recently, the privately used area of the complex has been separated off and given its own entrance.

description

The complex is delimited on the street side by a wrought iron fence , behind which the dense vegetation of the park prevents indiscreet views into the complex. The fence is interrupted roughly in the middle by an access gate. Almost directly behind it, hidden between the trees, is a tower-like dovecote from the 14th century ( Colombaia in Italian ), whose appearance was fundamentally changed at the end of the 19th century. The driveway ends after a few meters in an open courtyard. To the south of this is the two-storey residential building, the actual villa in which the armistice was signed on November 3rd. The central area in which the salon is located has been extended by a third floor. Here is also the small flight of stairs with the side entrance through which the Austrian delegation entered the villa when the armistice was signed, which was recorded in a historical photo.

The actual historic main entrance is located on the north-west side of the facade facing the street. A plaque above the entrance commemorates the events of November 1918 and the stay of the Italian King Viktor Emanuel III. who stayed here from November 20, 1917 to January 10, 1918. On the street side, built in an L-shape, there is a one-storey service building, while on the south side facing the park there is a terrace-like loggia with the winter garden . On the other side of the courtyard opposite the villa there is another L-shaped service building with an open loggia.