Villa Riggio of Campofiorito
Via Santa Maria di Gesù, n. 142
The villa contains a splendid Baroque fountain.
the following is extracted from: http://www.ilportaledelsud.org/villatrabia.htm
Many were the villas built by the great family of the Princes of Trabia in the Palermo countryside in the long period that saw them as architects of the political and social life of the city: Villa Trabia Campofiorito is one of these.
Immersed in the dense citrus groves of S. Maria di Gesù, an ancient village south-east of Palermo, it is accessed from an entrance on the mine of the same name characterized by two large pillars at the head of the wide avenue that leads to the open space in front of the house. This, particularly simple and linear in the planimetric layout and in the elevations, does not let us remotely imagine what is hidden a little further on; a fountain that stands as one of the most significant examples of Baroque architecture in Sicily. It is reached by a small pebble which, continuing in the same direction as the driveway through the dense citrus grove, then opens up almost suddenly giving vent to the imposing majesty of this monument which, despite the poor state it is in, still leaves us to imagine which beauty have once enjoyed.
The composition is conceived as a triumphal arch with three arches stopped, indeed “photographed” we could say, at the moment in which a cart pulled by three horses enters the square in front. (See photo 1).
Despite the profusion of decorations, the monument is very well controlled in its decorative exuberance, immediately declaring the uncommon expertise of its author. Vertically marked by twisted columns that hide their load-bearing function, adorned with flakes of obsidian, oyster shells and sea shells mounted now in rosebuds, now in clusters of grapes, the fountain is a rare example of the refined taste of the ornament. architectural and decoration in general. (See photos 2 - 3 - 4).
Not wanting to neglect any of the three major arts, the author also wanted to complete the work figuratively, leaving room for painting in the intrados of the central arch and in various pictorial inserts with a landscape subject.
A first morphological examination can be conducted along two lines: one vertical, the other horizontal. Analyzing the monument according to the first, it can be seen how, in addition to being symmetrical, at least apparently, with respect to its axis, it is characterized by a high central body, the triumphal arch surmounted by a pediment, then flanked by two other complementary bodies with a minor arc for each.
On the other hand, observing the composition according to a horizontal direction, it can ideally be divided into two orders: a lower one, from the ground level to the entablature and an upper one, comprising the central arch and the loggias above the two arches and lateral bodies. But the greatest surprise is obtained by observing the fountain first from the front and then from the back: we then discover the scenographic significance of the composition which has the characteristic of having the rear central arch lowered compared to the front one; the cornices at the base of the arch also appear lowered at the rear. All this confirms the author's careful study aimed at enhancing the complex with respect to predetermined points of view. Other elements then, even if at first incomprehensible and, according to a hasty judgment, perhaps attributable to an alleged bizarreness of the author, support this hypothesis.
Returning for now to the examination of the first approach with the monument, the discussion of what constitutes the fulcrum of the composition appears fundamental: the chariot. This, consisting of a large upside-down masonry shell mounted on wheels, is pulled by three horses in Billiemi marble, the typical gray-blue stone of Palermo; behind the cart a large acanthus leaf in masonry, once studded with small shells, concludes the sculptural complex. Behind, an artificial cliff made of innumerable stalactites, culminates in the point from which once flowed the water that, falling down steps obtained with slate slabs, after various and tortuous paths ended, through the mouths of the three horses , down in the basin also delimited by a border in Billiemi marble. Under the lateral arches, similar water features gave the whole complex a joyful pulsation of life. The sea chariot, pulled by the three horses in a gurgling of foamy waters, recalls the birth of Venus.
This hypothesis is supported by the presence of rosebuds with which the monument is dotted; buds which, according to the mythological tale, blossomed when the goddess passed. Contrary to what could be believed, the goddess is not and has never been represented in statuary form, as she is absent at the top of the waterfall or at any other point any base or even trace of it; the goddess, Venus, is painted in the intrados of the central arch, a condition more suited to her status as it is less materialistic and more ethereal, at least in the concept of time. Among the remains of the detached plaster one can see an arm, part of a cloak and the legs of some putti. On the chariot there was also a statue of the charioteer, the remains of which are preserved by the owners. On the left side of the fountain, hidden by a sand dune, are the remains of a wall which, starting from the basin behind it, develops with a curvilinear trend towards the viewer; traces of a similar wall can also be found on the right side where in particular there is a recess in the external side of the fountain which probably had to be used to facilitate access to the basin behind it.
Property bound under the law 1089/1939
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| FROM n. 7369 of 17.11.93 |
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: Google
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero Web,
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