Villa Favorita, also known as Real Villa della Favorita, was a royal rural palace (villa) in Ercolano, Italy.

History

A small villa previously stood at the site. Prince Giuseppe Beretta, Duke of Simari and Marquis of Mesagne, commissioned designs for a new building from the architect

Ferdinando Fuga Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782) was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Quiri ...

, and in 1762 the villa was completed. In 1768, the prince gave a sumptuous party in honour of the King Ferdinand IV of Naples and his new wife, the Habsburg Maria Carolina of Austria, just arrived from Vienna. The Queen liked the villa that reminded her of Vienna's Schönbrunn palace and since then was called “Favorita” (favoured). In 1792, the King acquired and expanded the villa, and obtained access to the sea through a great park from the main building on the street to the sea and a pier for the access by boat. It was frequently used by the royal couple and their children. The second son of the King, Prince

Leopold, Prince of Salerno , title = Prince of Salerno , image = Leopold, Prinz von Neapel-Sizilien.jpg , caption = Portrait by Louis Rene Letronne, 1816 , spouse = , issue = Maria Carolina, Duchess of Aumale , house = Bourbon ...

, while living there enlarged the palace and built some pavillons for entertainment, such as the Casino of mosaics (so called after its interior decoration with mother-of-pearl and porcelain scraps). He created an amusement park in the grounds. From 1879 and 1885 Villa Favorita hosted the exiled

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

, former

Khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Kh ...

of Egypt who had presided over the inauguration of Suez Canal. He decorated the interiors of some of his apartments with a Moorish style. With a facade overlooking an urban street, the much dilapidated palace is a prime examples of the villas in the

Miglio d'Oro Miglio is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Arrigo Miglio Arrigo Miglio (born 18 July 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Cagliari from 2012 to 2019. He was Bishop of Ivrea from 1999 to ...

or Golden Mile of Villas that occupied the eastern slopes of

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9 ...

. The interiors were decorated and frescoed by Andrea Giusti, Domenico Ascione and Filippo De Pascale. The interiors were highly decorated in a florid

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style, with stucco, woodwork, mirrors and glasswork. Rooms and halls were painted in various themes and styles, including Etruscan decorations, a stanza of ''Bacchus'' and ''Story of Abraham'', and a room (c. 1765) in chinoiserie style. Much of this decoration has been lost. Some stanza retain their fresco decoration including ones by Crescenzo Gamba.InCampania
entry on villa.

References

{{Authority control 1792 establishments in Italy Houses completed in 1792 Favorita Ercolano Royal residences in the Kingdom of Naples Baroque architecture in Campania Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies