Villa Verdi
Encyclopedia
Villa Verdi is the house that composer Giuseppe Verdi
owned from 1848 to the end of his life in 1901. It
is located in the village of Sant'Agata in the commune
of Villanova sull'Arda
in the Italian
province of Piacenza
less than two miles from the village of Le Roncole
, where he was born in 1813, and the town of Busseto
where he lived from 1824.
After buying the estate on which he began to build his house in 1848 and, after various stops and starts, it was completed in 1880. Originally, the house was occupied by his parents, but, after the death of his mother, his father returned to Busseto. Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi
, the opera singer with whom he lived prior to their 1859 marriage, moved into the Villa in 1851.
Verdi extended the original house on the property by adding two wings with terraces to the front, plus greenhouses, a chapel, and garages for coaches in the rear. Also, much of both Strepponi's and Verdi's time was taken up with considerable expansion of the parkland surrounding the house and the planting of many trees, some quite exotic in their origin.
Apart from his visits to European cities, sometimes wintering in Genoa, and part of the winters of 1862 and 1863 in Russia for the premiere of La forza del destino
, most of Verdi's life was lived at the Villa. After Strepponi's death in 1897, Verdi spent less time there. He personally oversaw the management of the estate and ran a profitable farming business.
The rooms include Strepponi's own room with its original canopy bed. She died there in November 1897; the dressing room dominated today by the Fritz piano which Verdi from the time of Rigoletto
in 1851 to Aida
in 1871; Verdi's bedroom where he slept and worked; plus the study off the bedroom, where Verdi generally kept his accounts, now contains piano scores and much memorabilia relating to Verdi's life. The final room, the Hotel de Milan room, contains the furniture from Room 157 of the Hotel de Milan which is located close to La Scala
and where Verdi died on 27 January 1901. The room also contains the shirt which Verdi was wearing at his death, plus a deathmask. Visitors are also able to see Verdi's coaches and tour the park containing over 100 varieties of tree and the ice house.
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
owned from 1848 to the end of his life in 1901. It
is located in the village of Sant'Agata in the commune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Villanova sull'Arda
Villanova sull'Arda
Villanova sull'Arda is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 120 km northwest of Bologna and about 25 km east of Piacenza....
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
province of Piacenza
Province of Piacenza
The Province of Piacenza is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Piacenza.The province has 273,689 inhabitants . Its total area is 2,589 km². There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Piacenza...
less than two miles from the village of Le Roncole
Le Roncole
Le Roncole, or Roncole Verdi, is a village in the province of Parma of Italy, a frazione of the comune of Busseto. It is located c. 140 km southeast of Milan. Today Le Roncole is called Roncole Verdi, named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi who was born there on either 9 or 10 October, 1813...
, where he was born in 1813, and the town of Busseto
Busseto
Busseto is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. It was the capital of Stato Pallavicino. Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in the nearby village of Le Roncole and he moved there in 1824...
where he lived from 1824.
After buying the estate on which he began to build his house in 1848 and, after various stops and starts, it was completed in 1880. Originally, the house was occupied by his parents, but, after the death of his mother, his father returned to Busseto. Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi
Giuseppina Strepponi
Clelia Maria Josepha Strepponi was a nineteenth century Italian operatic soprano of great renown and the second wife of composer Giuseppe Verdi...
, the opera singer with whom he lived prior to their 1859 marriage, moved into the Villa in 1851.
Verdi extended the original house on the property by adding two wings with terraces to the front, plus greenhouses, a chapel, and garages for coaches in the rear. Also, much of both Strepponi's and Verdi's time was taken up with considerable expansion of the parkland surrounding the house and the planting of many trees, some quite exotic in their origin.
Apart from his visits to European cities, sometimes wintering in Genoa, and part of the winters of 1862 and 1863 in Russia for the premiere of La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, most of Verdi's life was lived at the Villa. After Strepponi's death in 1897, Verdi spent less time there. He personally oversaw the management of the estate and ran a profitable farming business.
Visits to the Villa Verdi
Today, the Villa is owned by descendants of Verdi's little cousin, Maria Filomena Verdi, whom Verdi and his wife brought up as a daughter. This is the Carrara-Verdi family, and they live year-round in parts of the Villa. Visitors are allowed to view five rooms located on the ground floor of the South wing which were occupied by the composer and his wife. Other upstairs rooms were used by servants and guests.The rooms include Strepponi's own room with its original canopy bed. She died there in November 1897; the dressing room dominated today by the Fritz piano which Verdi from the time of Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
in 1851 to Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
in 1871; Verdi's bedroom where he slept and worked; plus the study off the bedroom, where Verdi generally kept his accounts, now contains piano scores and much memorabilia relating to Verdi's life. The final room, the Hotel de Milan room, contains the furniture from Room 157 of the Hotel de Milan which is located close to La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and where Verdi died on 27 January 1901. The room also contains the shirt which Verdi was wearing at his death, plus a deathmask. Visitors are also able to see Verdi's coaches and tour the park containing over 100 varieties of tree and the ice house.