Opera houses raise funds to save Villa Verdi

by Ria Andriani

Villa Verdi, the historic house built by legendary Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.
(Wikimedia Commons: Pavel Špindler)

Opera houses in Italy have banded together to save the historic villa built by legendary Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Sant'agata Villanova Sull'arda, a house in the Italian province of Piacenza, also known as Villa Verdi, will go under the hammer in a public auction this year.

ABC Classic presenter Mairi Nicolson visited the villa of her favourite composer last October and shares its significance.

"The Villa Verdi is by local standards reasonably large, with a carriage house and extended gardens. There are more than 100 giant trees, many planted by Verdi himself, whilst his wife, soprano Giuseppina Strepponi tended the garden beds."

These days the Villa serves as both a museum and home to Verdi's descendants. "Inside the museum, you get a very strong sense of the couple's lives and Verdi's modest needs. It feels like a family home.”

 

Verdi's desk is still there with the scores of his most famous operas he composed there including Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Aida and his last masterpiece, Falstaff.

"Her bedroom, with Giuseppina's original canopy bed, and his modest rooms where he slept and worked, are decorated with gifts from his travels, paintings, busts and memorabilia. If you look up to the top shelf in his study you'll see his favourite pet parrot, stuffed!"

Loss of revenue from the museum during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with mounting renovation bills, has hastened the Villa Verdi's fate.

Verdi built the house on land he already owned in 1848. He moved in with Strepponi in 1851 and lived there until his death in 1901. The estate passed on to Maria Filomena Verdi, the composer's younger cousin. It is currently owned by four of her descendants, the Carrara Verdi who fought over what to do with the home for 20 years - but the pandemic has forced their hands.

The bidding is expected to start at €30 million ($46,144,000). Although the Italian state has the right to make the first offer, the government only allocated €20 million ($30,777,000) to purchase the nationally significant villa. Concerned Villa Verdi may be turned into a private residence, major opera houses including the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Verona Arena and La Scala in Milan are hoping Verdi's most famous works will help to save his home for the public. They are putting on a series of concerts until June 15, with proceeds to be donated to the Italian Ministry of Culture.

Born in the 19th-century, Verdi was a fervent supporter of the unification of Italy known as "Risorgimento" which saw many city states absorbed into modern-day Italy. He was a member of parliament and his music, such as Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves, earned a significant place in the hearts on many Italians even today.

What Mairi remembers most, however, is how Verdi chose to live. "When Verdi died in January 1901 he was the richest man in Italy. So I was shocked when I did my first Verdi tour in Northern Italy and discovered how modestly he lived in the relatively humble Villa Verdi at Sant'Agata until his death. He never flaunted his wealth."

First published at ABC Classic website, February 21, 2023