Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stile Liberty
From the latter end of the 19th century, there was a boom in villa construction on the lakes,
a symbol of self-worth among moneyed families at a time of confidence following Italian
unification. The villas became the focus of a high-class dolce vita, as well as their gardens,
which were seen as a kind of open-air salon where a coterie of socialites and artists were
entertained.
It was the belle époque, and for some decades a fresh new wave in art and architecture
had been spreading across Europe, taking its cue from applied arts and strong Japanese in-
fluences. Known as art nouveau in France, it came to be called
stile liberty
(liberty style) in
Italy. Key points for identifying such buildings are the proud and visible use of materials
previously considered 'ignoble', such as wrought iron, ceramics, stained glass, brick and,
in some cases, cement. In addition, liberty and art nouveau designers and architects fa-
voured curves and natural motifs (flowers, vines etc) over straight lines, particularly in dec-
orative elements (from door handles to windows, sculptural reliefs to door frames). The
style reached its apotheosis in the spa of San Pellegrino Terme and in the residential area
around Corso Venezia in Milan, where there are many examples, like the exotic natural his-
tory museum and the civic aquarium, and Casa Galimberti, with its ceramic facade, on Via
Malpighi.
It is hardly surprising that many buildings in this style should have popped up on the
lakes. They did so mainly in more popular resorts. Since the opening of the Sempione
(Simplon) Pass from Switzerland and the arrival of rail connections, Stresa on Lake Mag-
giore had become a key holiday destination as had sunny Gardone Riviera on Lake Garda.
Both are dotted with liberty villas like the Grand Hotel Borromees and Villa Barberis on
Lake Maggiore and Villa Simonini (now Hotel Laurin) and Villa Feltrinelli (also a hotel)
on Lake Garda. One of the great Italian liberty architects was Giuseppe Sommaruga, who
left several villas in Sarnico (the most noteworthy is Villa Faccanoni) on Lake Iseo. On
Lake Como, only the Villa Bernasconi is a clear liberty example, though it's one of the
best.
Directly across from the Duomo sits Milan's other precocious feat of engineering, the Galleria Vittoria
Emanuele. This soaring iron-and-glass neoclassical arcade heralded the new industrial Italy of the Risor-
gimento. Highly innovative for its time, the building has spawned countless imitators, right down to the
glazed-roofed megamalls of today.
