Villa Oliva
The Villa Oliva (Buonvisi) is located in San Pancrazio, a district of Lucca in Tuscany , Italy.
The Villa
In 1593 the villa was first mentioned in a document, which was commissioned by the Buonvisi family at the end of the 15th century. The construction is attributed to the architect and sculptor Matteo Civitali . While the garden front looks simple, the facade is only interrupted by a single central balcony, the north side surprises with a loggia that extends almost the entire width of the building, the arches of which extend to the first floor. In the 18th century, the Buonvisi family died out and the villa changed hands several times, including the possession of Prince Charles Poniatowski, who had the garden converted into an English landscape park. In 1946 the plant came into the possession of the Oliva family, who tried to restore the plant, which had been badly damaged in World War II.
The garden
The garden has largely retained its original shape. Coming from the visitor entrance one arrives at the north side of the garden. The Angel's Basin ( vaschetta dell'angelo ), an artificial grotto made of natural stones with a putto , and the holm oak amphitheater are the design elements of this part of the park.
The garden in the south of the villa offers a completely different picture. It is laid out in three levels, which, however, do not run in the central axis to the villa, but at right angles to it, following the natural course of the slope. On the middle terrace, an avenue of cypress trees leads from the former main entrance to the villa. A pergola made of hornbeam runs parallel to it.
The 5 hectare facility is enclosed by a wall on which the Fontana della Sirena and the Fontana dell'Abbondanza are located. The water flows from the upper terrace over a three-step cascade with bowls made of tuff stone and figural decorations made of terracotta into the lower basin and further into a fountain decorated with a putto .
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 54 '12 " N , 10 ° 32' 58.4" E