Challenging restorations and fascinating stories | Archiverde

“Any historical event, however nefarious it may be, is always set on a path to the positive, it always has a constructive meaning.”

(Sant’Agostino)

History and architecture

The history of this achievement by Archiverde is lost in the mists of time. The villa was built in the middle of 19th century, when Russian prince Alexander Troubetzkoy was exiled by the Russian tsars for attempting an insurrection against the government. After a few years in Siberia, forced into forced labour, he landed in exile in northern Italy, where he invested his considerable fortune in the construction of two grandiose specular villas. One, the object of Archiverde’s project, at Blevio,on Lake Como, and the other in Verbania, which is now in a state of neglect. Different was the fate of the villa in Blevio, which was bought by an English tycoon, who decided to take care of it.

Archiverde stepped in at this point in the story to undertake a lengthy six-year restoration of the balustrade fountain park. An infinitely complex operation for many reasons.

Splendid works come from intensive work

First of all, the logistics: a location that is not easily accessible, with all the problems of transporting materials and vehicles that this entails. Then, not to be overlooked, is the supervision of the cultural heritage, which takes care of the protection of these historical and artistic places and lays down rules to be followed slavishly. Last but not least, difficulties also arise from a multidisciplinary team, made up of different professionals with different opinions, which must then be translated into concrete actions.

From so much effort, however, comes extraordinary success. The result is a satisfied customer and a splendid piece of work. This was achieved, as usual, by respecting the territory and the holographic limits it imposed. The choice of botanicals, as well as the choice of materials, echoed the original, showing reverence in maintaining historicity in the restoration work.

A clear example of how a company with over fifty years of experience in the renovation and design of parks and gardens, does not stop even when faced with objective bureaucratic and environmental problems.

Cesare Zacchetti