The Villa Giulia is a villa in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. It is located in the

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

district and is part of the Vesuvian villas of the Golden Mile.

History

The structure is mentioned in the Map of the Duke of Noja (18th century). The structure was called the "villa and delight of San Nicandro", and consisted of the factory courtyard. Villa Giulia was designed by

Luigi Vanvitelli Luigi Vanvitelli (; 12 May 1700 – 1 March 1773), known in Dutch as (), was an Italian architect and painter. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practised a sober classicising academic Late Baroque style that made an eas ...

. The work on the site was supervised by Francesco Collecini, Pietro and Carlo Vanvitelli, sons of Luigi Vanvitelli. In June 1760, they took measurements and noted them on a praetorian tablet. In letters to his brother Urbano, Luigi said Carlo had

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...

. On 14 February 1761, Pietro and Marcello Fonton inspected the house, and inspected it three days later. Luigi was accompanied by Pietro to plant the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

. According to the letters, as construction was finishing, Luigi intervened several times due to the inexperience of his children, then in their early twenties. The villa was bought by Domenico. It was modified by the decision of his grandson, Domenico Cattaneo Della Volta, third prince of San Nicandro, subject of King Naples Ferdinand IV. The country house was changed into a villa, to follow the King when the court moved to the Reggia of Portici, for hunting. The villa was called Giulia in honor of the wife of Volta, Giulia di Capua. Prince Domenico, in the last years of his life, lived in the villa, where he died in 1782. The villa was expanded and redesigned by the architect Nicola Breglia in 1886, at the behest of the Duchess Giulia Cattaneo Pignatelli. By her wish, the villa was left to Diego de Gregorio di Sant'Elia, who adopted the surname Cattaneo by testamentary will. The villa is owned by his descendants. Some features of the villa are the historic apartment, decorated by Ignazio Perricci and Salvatore Cepparulo, and the vast garden that shows the botanical species of the ancient park, with

camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

and various statues.Almerinda Di Benedetto, "Artisti della decirazione", Electa Napoli, Naples, 2006, pp. 158-189 (Italian)

References

{{Authority control Baroque architecture in Naples Luigi Vanvitelli buildings Giulia