What to see in Italy: Villa Comunale Giuseppe Mazzini in Palmi, where you can admire one of the most beautiful views in southern Italy
The 'Giuseppe Mazzini' municipal villa is a public park in Palmi, and is included in the list of national monuments. The villa is located in the city's historic centre and from its balcony you can admire the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Strait of Messina, the Aeolian Islands, Bagnara Calabra and Scilla.
"From this place is one of the views for which the few travellers who pass from Reggio to Naples by land are accustomed to give enthusiastic praise; a flat promenade or platform, half surrounded by seats and a balustrade, the evening haunt where people laze in Palmi, ends on one side with a group of churches and other buildings in the town, and on the other side drops steeply into the blue sea, a perpendicular precipice covered with cacti."
(Edward Lear, Diary of a walking tour - Reggio Calabria and its province, 1847)
photo below:
Sunset from the steps of the Villa Comunale Giuseppe Mazzini (photo carla squadriti)
History
In the 19th century, there was a plateau where the municipal villa now stands. In order to make this scenic spot, where there was a considerable overhang, usable, a large brick wall was built, supported by imposing arches. For this reason, the place was named 'Piano delle Muraglie' (Plain of the Walls).
In 1870, the municipal administration led by Casimiro Coscinà commissioned the botanist Enrico Fehr to design a public park on the site. Completed in 1871, the villa was later embellished with trees, a stage for music, a fountain located at the entrance from the strada dei Tribunali and a boundary wall of granite stone. The villa was also equipped with lighting, so that it could be used at night.
The park was seriously damaged by the 1894 earthquake, which had its epicentre in Palmi.
In 1927, a decree was issued restricting the park to "panoramic scenes that can be enjoyed from that place" and, also in those years, it was named after King Umberto I of Italy.
In 1945 the villa was named after Giuseppe Mazzini.
The last restoration of the park took place in 1998. Among the main works was the paving of all the paths inside the park with cobblestones.
Description
The villa is equipped with many tall trees, palm trees, flowerbeds and cobblestone paths, benches, children's playgrounds as well as a fixed music stage, a bar-restaurant and a fountain. The central avenue of the villa is named after the two botanists Enrico Fehr and Umberto Irrera.
Inside the park there are several works of art, consisting mainly of marble busts of local and national personalities. There is also a statue of a woman in white marble (2012), created by the artist Maurizio Carnevali, and an ancient cannon found in the waters off the coast of Pula, resting on a granite base.
During the celebrations of the Palmi Variety, which since 2013 has been included in UNESCO's Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the municipal villa is the venue for elections, by popular vote, of those who represent the Animella and the Padreterno on the votive cart.
Marble busts
The list of personalities depicted in the marble busts is as follows:
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1883), the work of Giovanni Belardinelli;
Vittorio Emanuele III (1878), the work of Rocco Larussa;
Casimiro Coscinà, the work of Giovanni Belardinelli;
Nicola Antonio Manfroce (1913), artwork by Vincenzo Jerace;
Francesco Carbone (1963), artwork by Antonio Badolati;
Felice Battaglia (2004);
Domenico Antonio Cardone (2004).
During the Fascist period there was also a bust of Michele Bianchi, which was removed after the war.
fonte articolo: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_comunale_Giuseppe_Mazzini
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