Villa Massei

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The Umbraculum at Villa Massei The Umbraculum, Villa Massei.JPG
The Umbraculum at Villa Massei

Villa Massei is a 16th-century hunting lodge and 60 acres estate in Massa Macinaia, near the ancient walled city of Lucca, Italy, known for its fine gardens, which are visited by hundreds of garden lovers from all over the world annually. [1]

Lucca Comune in Tuscany, Italy

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio, in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Lucca. It is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls.

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The house was built by the Counts Sinibaldi in about 1500, and was inherited by the Marchesi Massei in the 18th century, nephews of the Sinibaldi. In the 1950s the property was home to Lionel Fielden, founder of All India Radio and author of The Natural Bent. [2] In 1981 Gil Cohen and Paul Gervais, both of Boston, bought the estate, and over the years have developed its garden, which "represents the best of old and new, an 'exquisite recreation' of a Renaissance garden, complete with lemon trees in terracotta pots, and inspired innovations introduced by its visionary new owners." [3] Gervais and Cohen sold the property to the TenCate family of The Netherlands in 2014.

All India Radio International service of India

All India Radio (AIR), officially known since 1956 as Ākāsha Vāṇī is the national public radio broadcaster of India and is a division of Prasar Bharati. It was established in 1930. It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, an Indian television broadcaster. Headquartered in the Akashvani Bhavan building in New Delhi, it houses the Drama Section, the FM Section, the National Service, and is also home to the Indian television station Doordarshan Kendra, (Delhi).

Paul Gervais is an American visual artist and writer, who has also published a personal memoir. His novel, Extraordinary People, was nominated for the PEN/ Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1992.

Bibliography

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References

  1. The Back Roads of Tuscany, William Sertl, Garden Design, October/November 1996, pp 78-81
  2. Fielden, Lionel (1960). The Natural Bent. London: Andre Deutsch.
  3. Renaissance Men, Penelope Hobhouse, Gardens Illustrated, June 2004, pp 48-55.

Further reading

Pia Pera was an Italian novelist, essayist, and translator.