For the city of Terni, managing the artistic and beautiful heritage of the many historic villas in the area represents the valorization of a true treasure. This treasure, wisely managed, can contribute to expanding the city’s tourism offerings and making it increasingly attractive, in light of the city’s future development.
The Terni area boasts a respectable number of villas and historic residences. While not particularly striking or of great artistic value, they do feature interesting structures, some of which can boast the paternity of illustrious masters of Italian architecture such as Antonio da Sangallo, who built the imposing Villa Spada, now better known as Villa Palma, certainly one of the most beautiful summer residences in Umbria, located in a panoramic position on the verdant hill overlooking the city, known as Colle dell’Oro (a linguistic distortion from the Latin colle laurum, due to the numerous presence of these plants).
The villa dates back to the 16th century and has changed hands several times. The last owner was the Amelia-born architect Angelo Guazzaroni, who carried out an efficient restoration of the house and park in the 1930s, also renovating the existing fresco cycles with the collaboration of Antonino Calcagnadoro, an artist who left a notable legacy in Terni and the surrounding area, decorating residences and public buildings (Palazzina Alterocca, the Piediluco School, Villa Wanda, and others). Today, it is sadly abandoned, along with its beautiful park, which over time has become an inextricable tangle of vegetation that obscures the building’s elegant architectural forms.
As mentioned, the project was drawn up by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger on behalf of Count Michelangelo Spada, a powerful figure in the papal court, for whom he had already built the imposing palace in the city center. The commission involved the construction of a large villa to serve as the family’s summer residence.
The main characteristic of most of Terni’s historic villas is that they were built between the end of the 16th century, like Villa Spada, and the first half of the 20th century. This means that buildings range in style from Renaissance and Baroque to Art Nouveau. Of particular interest is the number of villas dating back to the early industrialization of Terni and its surrounding area, evidence of the success of entrepreneurs who were making Terni a vibrant industrial center. These villas are therefore linked to the names of companies and dynasties that shaped the history of industrial Terni. Some are still in good condition, although their intended use is no longer strictly related to the residences of families such as the Centurinis, entrepreneurs in the textile industry like the Fongolis, or the Boscos, entrepreneurs in the metalworking sector, the Morgantis in the pharmaceutical industry, and so on. The countryside is also home to structures associated with agricultural property, such as the beautiful Villa Franchetti in Piediluco or Villa Graziani near Papigno. This villa, located in the center of an orange grove, has been depicted in several paintings by Grand Tour artists. Other examples include Villa Spadoni, which belonged to the first director of the steelworks, and Villa Centurini, the elegant residence of the owner of the eponymous jute mill, where approximately a thousand women worked.
These residences together form an interesting tourist itinerary that links the history of these villas to the industrial history of Terni, thus offering a unique perspective on the region.
In this context, we would like to highlight the former guesthouse, the imposing villa and its park that stands at the beginning of Corso Cornelio Tacito, facing the square of the same name. It was once owned by the Terni company and is now owned by the Municipality. Its use was reserved for company executives who needed hospitality, as well as visitors from within the country or even from abroad.
The city’s urban fabric holds other surprises: the Città Giardino neighborhood, built in the 1930s and 1940s, offers a widespread Art Nouveau style, including some “gems” such as Villa Wanda, located at the entrance to the neighborhood—consisting, as its name suggests, primarily of villas with gardens—embellished with mosaics by Calcagnadoro, and Villa Borzacchini, once owned by the famous racing ace of the 1930s, whose brilliant career tragically ended in an accident on the Monza racetrack. On the hill opposite Colle Obito, home to today’s hospital, Villa Fongoli and its park are another precious testament to Terni’s industrial history: it belonged to the Fongoli family, who established the first textile factory in Terni.
In the area, in addition to the aforementioned Villa Palma, or rather Spada, the rural area of Piedimonte is home to several ancient residences once belonging to noble families such as the Castelli, Manassei, Possenti, Colonnesi, and Caraciotti families. These residences served as holiday resorts and were also the sites of production of the famous olive oils produced from the olive groves that still cover the area.
Promoting these properties—according to a recent survey, there are approximately fifty—by integrating them into itineraries that also connect with Terni’s great industrial history can certainly enrich the local tourism offering, which today sees the Marmore Falls as its main attraction. In this regard, a project is currently under development that includes audiovisual documentation of historic residences in the Terni area, to be narrated and brought to life in television productions. The aim is to offer an image that is not only iconic, but also embedded in a context of thorough historical research, conveyed through an original and engaging narrative, supported by high-impact, high-quality images produced with the latest technology. Terni must increasingly attract the attention of tourists, who in recent times have shown growing interest in its territory, so rich in resources and evidence of art, history, and progress.
