Description of the attraction
Villa Mimbelli is located in Livorno on Via San Jacopo Aquaviva. Today it houses the Giovanni Fattori City Museum.
The aristocratic villa was built by the architect Vincenzo Micheli between 1865 and 1875 for the wealthy merchant Francesco Mimbelli and his wife Enrichetta Rodocanacchi. Once this residence, inhabited already in 1868, was surrounded by a small garden, which in 1871 was significantly expanded by acquiring adjacent lands. At the same time, next to the villa, Mimbeli ordered the construction of a two-story building for storing grain.
During the Second World War, Villa Mimbelli was seriously damaged, but after several years of neglect, it was carefully restored and reopened to the public. In 1994, the building housed the Giovanni Fattori Museum with a collection of paintings by the famous painter and other representatives of the Macchiaioli artistic movement. And the premises of that very granary are now used for temporary exhibitions.
Villa Mimbelli has an elegant façade decorated with grotesque masquerades and floral motifs. The main entrance, through which carriages could also pass, is hidden under a cast-iron canopy, while the side entrance on the ground floor is distinguished by three wide arched openings that lead directly to the dining room and the living room. The stucco ceilings and frescoed lunettes by Annibale Gatti deserve attention in the living room. There, on the ground floor, is the smoking room, known as the Moorish for its unique oriental style with exquisite filigree and colorful Islamic decorations.
An imposing staircase adorned with ceramic cupids adjoins the north wall of the villa. A staircase leads to the second floor with the apartments of the Mimbelli couple. The villa is surrounded by a lush romantic garden with exotic plants, especially date palms. In the park, you can see a small chapel and an open-air theater of the 20th century, which, however, has not been used for many years.
