Built in 1892,[1] the original two-storey villa had thirteen rooms and a side-turret on its south side.[1][2][3] In 1934, it was purchased by Rachele Guidi, second wife of Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator. The Mussolinis used it as a summer holiday home,[4] and expanded the property in 1940, adding an additional floor.[5] During his stays, Mussolini would conduct government business from the villa and host notable guests and foreign dignitaries.[3][5][6]
In 1997, the villa – by then called Villa Margherita – was purchased by the Cassa di Risparmio di Rimini, who loaned it to Riccione's municipal government.[5][6][7][8] After a one-million-euro restoration,[8][9] the villa reopened as Villa Mussolini in 2005. It hosts cultural events and exhibitions,[3][8][10] as well as civil wedding ceremonies.[11] The villa's name and use continues to attract local controversy.[9][10][12][13]
History
Early years (1892–1934)
The villa was built in 1892 for Marquise Eugenia Beccadelli,[1] who divided her time between Florence and Bologna.[1][7] Its architect was Ferdinando Mancini.[7] The villa features on the 1895 map drawn for the state's first bathing resort concessions.[7][14][15]
The two-storey villa originally had thirteen rooms, including a garage, greenhouse, and laundry room;[2] it included a side-turret on its south side,[1][3] which faced east towards the main entrance.[1] The property was set in 1,397 square metres (15,040sqft) of land.[2]
Beccadelli died in 1904,[7] and the villa subsequently passed into the ownership of Giulio Monti of Ferrara,[1][7] from which derived the name of Villa Monti.[1][7][16] It was then sold to the family of Count Angeletti of Bologna,[1][5] who sold it to Giulia Galli Bernabei, its last owner before the Mussolinis.[1][2][4][5][7]
Purchase by Rachele Guidi (1934)
Villa Mussolini in 1935
For some years before their purchase of the villa, the family of Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator, had spent their summer holidays on the riviera romagnola; Mussolini and his second wife, Rachele Guidi, were themselves from Romagna's countryside.[2][4][5] In 1924 and 1925, the family stayed in Cattolica.[4] In 1926, they stayed in the villa of Count Terzi in Riccione,[2][4][5][6] opposite the Grand Hotel Des Bains and near the Mater Admirabilis church.[4][6][16] Between 1927 and 1932, they stayed at Domenico Galavotti's Hotel Al Lido on Piazzale Roma.[4][6] In 1933, the family moved to Pietro Tontini's Hotel Milano Helvetia; Tontini and Mussolini were comrades in the First World War.[4]
Guidi was keen to purchase a property in Riccione for their next summer stay. She paid 170,000 lire for Galli Bernabei's villa;[2][4][5] the purchase deed was signed on 2 July 1934,[2][4][5][16] and registered in Forlì on 21 July 1940.[2] Galli Bernabei did not want to sell the villa, and was persuaded only after the intervention of Frangiotto Pullè, Riccione's mayor.[7] According to one account, Guidi purchased the villa using money intended as a donation to the Opera Nazionale Balilla, leaving her husband under the impression that the villa was a gift from the people of Riccione.[4][5] Other versions say that Guidi used money from local party subscriptions,[5] or royalties from Mussolini's articles in Fortune.[6]
Mussolini summer holiday home (1934–44)
Mussolini and his son, Romano, on Riccione's beach in 1932
Mussolini would arrive in Riccione from Rome on a Savoia-Marchetti three-engined seaplane. A 75-metre (246-foot) ship, Aurora, would be stationed off Riccione's coast.[19] Mussolini would bathe in the sea, where he would be greeted by crowds and photographers.[16][19] He was noted to swim breaststroke, somewhat archaically.[20]Clara Petacci, Mussolini's mistress, would stay at the Grand Hotel Rimini during Mussolini's stays in Riccione.[21][22] It is believed that Pettaci and Mussolini would be escorted by motorboats to secret offshore meetings. In her memoirs, Luciana Castellina, future member of the European Parliament, recalls playing tennis with Anna Maria in Riccione.[23]
The villa was guarded by 150 soldiers, reaching 300 during the summer holidays. Mussolini's guard, dressed in black, were nicknamed furnarèin (cockroaches) by locals for their ability to appear unexpectedly from street corners.[4] Guards stationed along the promenade would hurry slow walkers in the section by the Villa Mussolini.[20]
As a result of his association with the area, Riccione's development is cliched as dependent on Mussolini's patronage.[19] Mussolini called Riccione a "land of heroes, most fascist since birth".[24][25]
On 1 July 1939, the Rimini–Riccione route 11 trolleybus line opened near the villa, replacing a previous tramway.[26][27][28][29] The line terminated at Piazzale dei Giardini; it was reconfigured shortly after its construction to bring trolleybuses to terminate on the piazzale's mountain-facing side, thereby avoiding trolleybuses passing near Villa Mussolini and disturbing guests.[29][30] Guidi used the trolleybuses during her stays at the villa.[29]
1940 expansion and renovation
In 1940, the property was expanded with the annexation of the land between the present-day Viale Milano, Via dei Giardini, and Viale Ippolito Nievo.[1][3][5] The property was thus brought to a total area of 6,000 square metres (1.5 acres).[5]
Some of the existing buildings in the annexed area were destroyed and replaced with a tennis court and garden, including a vegetable garden and shed.[5] A high perimeter wall was built, and new buildings were erected for Mussolini's children on the new land.[1]
After the Second World War, Villa Mussolini remained in Guidi's ownership:[5] like many of their other villas in Romagna, it was not registered in Mussolini's name,[1][35] and so the villa was not entirely requisitoned by the state.[1] As Mayor of Riccione, Galli Barnabei, the villa's pre-fascist owner, unsuccessfully attempted to regain the villa's possession.[5] On 24 July 1946, a court in Rome ordered the confiscation of Mussolini's assets;[21] the authorities in Forlì executing the order included the villa's front part,[21] which was ceded to Riccione's municipal government, who destroyed the patio to restore Viale Milano.[1]
Guidi and Anna Maria continued to visit the villa in the immediate post-war years.[17] Guidi sold the property to a Bolognese company in 1952:[1][20] according to Romano, she began to prefer holidays in Ischia, feeling that Riccione was too closely connected to tumultuous and unhappy years.[17] The villa became the site of various commercial activities,[1] including a restaurant named "Perry" and a veterinary clinic for dogs.[21][36][37] Opened in 1967, the restaurant manager conserved the rooms but introduced Spanish furniture; it was considered a fashionable place to eat.[37] The villa was abandoned to decay in the 1980s;[1] according to a report in La Stampa on 2 October 1979, the villa had become "a curiosity only for a few tourists".[31]
In the post-war years, the villa came to be known as Villa Margherita, commonly believed to have been the villa's name before the Mussolinis, though incorrectly: Margherita was the name of a separate, neighbouring villa belonging to the Galli Bernabei family that was demolished in the 1940 expansion.[7]
In 1979,[9] Terzo Pierani, Riccione's communist mayor, suggested that Riccione should "tear down the dictator's house";[17] the local communist party maintained an unsuccessful campaign for its demolition.[38][39] At a price of 92 million lire,[31] Pierani's administration purchased the garden to transform it into a public green area, reversing the 1940 expansion.[3][5] The buildings in the area were demolished in October 1979, including a restaurant that had been built illegally.[31] The area now houses Piazzale Eugenio Curiel, which includes a bus station and car park.[3][5] To some historical irony, it became the terminus of the route 11 trolleybus in 1994.[30][40]
Purchase and 2005 renovation (1997–)
In the 1990s, the Friends of Riccione Association campaigned for the villa's reacquisition.[5][41] In 1997, it was purchased by the Cassa di Risparmio di Rimini, who loaned it to the municipal government for its restoration.[5][6][42] In turn, the municipal government was contractually able to use the villa for thirty years.[8] The restoration cost €1 million,[8][9][17] divided 3:1 between the municipal and provincial governments.[9][17][38]
The villa reopened in 2005.[1][5][6][43] Controversially, Romano Mussolini was among 350 guests at the reopening ceremony on 17 July 2005, at the invitation of the municipal mayor;[8][38][42] the Communist Refoundation Party had threatened to disrupt the ceremony.[17] The Cassa di Risparmio, which by then had become Banca Carim, advertised the property for sale in December 2017;[6][24] Villa Mussolini was still reported to be in the bank's possession in March 2023.[44]
Following the 2005 renovation,[12] the centre-left municipal administration officially restored the 'Villa Mussolini' name, to local controversy.[9][10][12][13] As a result of the villa's name, some entertainers have refused to perform at the venue.[9][13][44]
In August 2020, Lodovico Zanetti, the president of Forlì's ANPI chapter, suggested that the villa be renamed after the Matatia family,[48] three Jewish brothers from Corfu who settled in Riccione in the 1920s. The eldest brother, Nissim, bought a villa within eyesight of Villa Mussolini; his family was deported and killed in Auschwitz.[49] Roberto Matatia, Nissim's nephew, published a book in January 2014 recounting the family's history in proximity to Villa Mussolini, entitled The Inconvenient Neighbours.[45][49]
In April 2021, the municipality freely loaned the villa to an agency promoting Riccione's candidacy for UNESCO heritage. The loan was criticised for attaching Mussolini's name to the candidacy.[10]
Villino Pater "Cacetta"
The villa's complex included a cottage, known as Villino Pater or "Cacetta", which is still extant on Via Latini. The villa was owned by the engineer Dario Pater. It was twinned with another villa and connected by a portico; its twin, which no longer exists, belonged to Mussolini's nephew.[50] Like the 1940 additions to Villa Mussolini, the villa was constructed using populit.[5][32][33]
In October 2019, the municipal government sold the villa to a Milanese real estate company for €600,000.[32][51][52][53] It was advertised for sale again in February 2020, for €980,000.[54] A section of the wall collapsed in August 2020,[32][53] bringing down also part of the attic and the floor of the first floor.[32]
See also
Grand Hotel Riccione – the principal building was used by visiting dignatories during Mussolini's stays in Riccione,[55] while the tower annexe, designed by Renato Camus,[56] was used as an operational control and security centre by Mussolini's private secretariat.[57][58]
Clara "Claretta" Petacci was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed by Italian partisans during Mussolini's summary execution.
Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy.
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy.
Rimini and San Marino "Federico Fellini" International Airport, formerly Rimini Miramare Airport, and more simply known as Rimini Airport or Fellini Airport, is an international airport located in Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.
Riccione is a comune in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.
Verucchio is a comune in the province of Rimini, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It has a population of about 9,300 and is 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Rimini, on a spur overlooking the valley of the Marecchia river. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Montescudo is a frazione and former comune (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) southeast of Bologna and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Rimini.
San Giovanni in Marignano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) southeast of Bologna and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Rimini. As of 2021, the municipality counts 9,463 inhabitants.
The Grand Hotel Rimini is a five-star hotel located in Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. As one of Rimini's most well-known buildings, the hotel is known for its elegance, classic style, and association with filmmaker Federico Fellini.
Rimini railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Opened in 1861, it forms part of the Bologna–Ancona railway, and is also a terminus of the Ferrara–Rimini railway.
The Rimini trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of the Province of Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The Bologna–Ancona railway is an Italian railway that connects the city of Bologna with the city of Ancona, passing through the Po Valley to Rimini and along the Adriatic coast for the rest of the line.
Miramare di Rimini, more commonly known simply as Miramare, is the southernmost suburb and frazione of the city of Rimini, Italy. Situated on the Adriatic coast, the seaside resort lies 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Rimini's city centre and borders the municipality of Riccione.
Metromare is a 9.8 km (6.1 mi) trolleybus rapid transit line in the province of Rimini, Italy. Part of Rimini's trolleybus system, the line runs between the railway stations of Rimini and Riccione on a segregated track beside the Bologna–Ancona railway. Fifteen intermediate stops serve the coastal suburbs, the touristic seafront, Federico Fellini International Airport, and the Fiabilandia amusement park. The service is operated by Start Romagna SpA, and launched in November 2019.
Renato Camus was an Italian architect.
The Old Church of San Martino in Arcione, known more simply as San Martino, is a Roman Catholic church in Riccione, in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.
In 1916, two earthquakes of magnitude 5.82 Mw occurred near the border between the regions of Romagna and the Marche in the Kingdom of Italy: at 13:50 CEST on 17 May, and at 09:06 CEST on 16 August.
The Grand Hotel Riccione is a luxury hotel in Riccione, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.
San Vito is a town in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. The town is divided between the comuni of Rimini and Santarcangelo di Romagna, both in the Province of Rimini, with a northern part in San Mauro Pascoli, in the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Culturally, the town is closest to Santarcangelo.
The Villa des Vergers is a countryside villa in San Lorenzo in Correggiano, a frazione of Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Dating to the 17th century, the villa was purchased by Adolphe Noël des Vergers in 1843, and substantially redesigned in 1879 by Arthur-Stanislas Diet. Between 1938 and 1946, it was owned by Mario Ruspoli, 2nd Prince of Poggio Suasa, who employed Pietro Porcinai to design the villa's gardens. The villa was used as a military headquarters by German forces in the Second World War, and has since been owned by a series of local entrepreneurs.
↑ "Storia della filovia Rimini - Riccione"[Story of the Rimini-Riccione trolleybusway]. www.trasportipubblici.info. 31 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
↑ "History". Patrimonio Mobilità Provincia di Rimini. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
1 2 3 Renzi, Roberto (3 April 2020). "Il Filobus e la Guerra (1935-1945)"[The Trolleybus and the War (1935-1945)]. Trasporti Pubblici in Romagna. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
1 2 Lombardi, Lidia (22 May 2021). "Claretta senza aura"[Claretta without aura]. succedeoggi (in Italian). Retrieved 24 December 2023. [D]onna Rachele fa affari con Dario Pater, lo svizzero inventore di un materiale edile di facile utilizzo, quel populit con il quale in quattro e quattr'otto si tiravano su casette – a Ostia, ad Acilia, a Riccione; per non dire del milione di lire che nel 1938 il Senato stanzia per "Ben" senza indicarne la causale.[[D]onna Rachele does business with Dario Pater, the Swiss inventor of an easy-to-use building material, that populit with which small houses were built in a hurry - in Ostia, in Acilia, in Riccione; not to mention the million lire that in 1938 the Senate allocated for 'Ben' without indicating the reason.]
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 200 (March–April 1995), pp. 52–53. National Trolleybus Association (UK).
↑ Zaghini, Paolo (26 July 2020). "Italo Nicoletti, il re discreto di Riccione"[Italo Nicoletti, the discreet king of Riccione]. Chiamami Città (in Italian). Retrieved 29 December 2023. Inoltre nel 1985 [Italo Nicoletti] diventa il segretario dell'Associazione Amici di Riccione, fino al 1995 quando ne diventerà il Presidente. Suo compito era promuovere l'immagine della Città. Italo fu l'ideatore e il principale organizzatore di questa associazione, che fu il motore degli accordi fra Comune e Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio per l'acquisizione e la ristrutturazione di Villa Mussolini.[Furthermore, in 1985 [Italo Nicoletti] became the secretary of the Friends of Riccione Association until 1995, when he became its president. His task was to promote the image of the city. Italo was the creator and main organiser of this association, which was the driving force behind the agreements between the Municipality and the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation for the acquisition and renovation of Villa Mussolini.]
↑ De Rubeis, Angela (3 June 2008). "Mussolini: una villa la sua storia"[Mussolini: A villa with history]. Il Ponte (in Italian). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
Nives Concolino, Anna Maria, and Giannini, Marina (2012). Villa Mussolini: Una finestra su Riccione [Villa Mussolini: a window into Riccione]. Guaraldi. ISBN978-8880496557.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
