Villa with an area of 18,000 sq m is sold for couples from Switzerland and will be transformed into a luxury hotel.
The most famous villa of the Italian city of Lucca, where summer evenings great Paganini gave exclusive concerts for Princess Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, sister of Napoleon, Villa Reale di Marlia found new owners. A married couple from Switzerland, whose names were not disclosed, under the strict surveillance of the Arts Council will turn villa into a luxury hotel.
Historic mansion Villa di Marlia refers to the monumental buildings of the city of Lucca, its construction began in the fifteenth century. Villa became famous by the sister of Napoleon - Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, crowned princess of Lucca and Piombino and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, who bought Villa di Marlia in 1806 and the nearby Villa del Vescovo uniting them into a single property.
Eliza realigned the main building of the villa in the neoclassical style, and turned the garden of 18 hectares in one of the most beautiful English parks in Italy.
In the ballroom, one of the most beautiful places of the villa, Princess Elisa arranged balls with Niccolo Paganini in the role of conductor. It was rumored that the Emperor's sister was having an affair with the great violinist.
According to the CEO of realtor Lionardo Luxury Real Estate, Dmitry Corti, "Estates date back to the 16th and 17th century, are particularly attractive to foreign buyers. Last year we sold five important properties in the Lucca area, for an average size between 1000 and 3000 m2".
After the fall of Napoleon, the villa passed into the hands of the Duke of Parma and afterwards to the Lorena dynasty d'Asburgo. Later, after the unification of Italy, the first king of the country, Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, became the owner of villa. Then he handed it over to Prince Carlo of Bourbon, disinherited because he dared to marry a woman of unroyal origin. After their death, the owner of the villa became their son, called "Mad Prince" because of his eccentric behavior. After some time, in order to cover the debt, villa was put up for sale: a large part of the property was sold at auction, a large number of trees was cut down and used for firewood. Completely abandoned villa was bought in 1924 by Countess Laetitia Pecci and the New York banker Cecil Blumenthal, who saved the villa from its total destruction.
As a premium hotel Villa Marlene open its doors in 2016.
According to the press release of Lionard Luxury Real Estate
Photocredit courtesy Lionard Luxury Real Estate