In 1910 Giuseppe Visconti turned his family’s ruined castle in Emilia-Romagna into a hothouse of Arts and Crafts activity – and he tackled the reconstruction very much in the style of a Renaissance Prince. He would employ artisans who lived in a Medieval Revival village he built-in the shadow of the fortress. In more ways than one, Marie-France Boyer is reminded of The Leopard…
In one of the bedrooms an upholstered 20th century wing back chair sits next to a fireplace mantle with a giltand mirror hanging above.
A reproduction wing back chair from the Editions Collection (LSC8), England circa 1860 small painted fire surround mantle (AP161)
Netherlands circa 1850 large Flemish giltand painted antique frame with original glass mirror (AS149)
Another bedroom contains a writing desk with a unique patterned upholstered chair. Behind the bed is an oversized mural.
France circa 1900 black wooden table (AY133)
France circa 1860 large panel on canvas (AY204) France circa 1780 armchair with tapestry (AY170)
The dining room set with floral center piece and antique porcelain china.
Italy circa 1880 set of 10 porcelain dishes (AN156), Belgium circa 1900 set of 6 chair upholstered in Belgian linen with high backs (AX112)
A meeting room is surround with oversized armoires with old master paintings and a center table. A wooden birdcage rests as the center piece.
Italy circa 1880 large armoire in walnut (AY223), France circa 1860 architectural wooden birdcage (AZ30)
England circa 1880 railway or library table with brass rails (AO108)
Grazzano reminds you of a child’s love drawing of a monumental castle – square and with a tower at each corner. Bit on the other side of its pointed – arched doorway, the highly sophisticated courtyard might just as easily serve as the backdrop to a quattrocento Madonna. Giusppe inherited a one of a kind ruin. But he had passion for craftsmanship and, in a pure Arts and Crafts – style reaction to rampant industrialization, subscribed to the fashion for reviewing past skills. So around the main building, he built a whole Medieval village in which he housed around a hundred families with wrought iron craftsman and joiners in the main who he required to wear period style clothing. A castle rebuilt with true Renaissance tradition.
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France circa 1880 pair of leaf/scroll carved wood capitols in remaining paint as table lamps with custom linen shades. (AZ39), US circa 1960 windy seascape painting of Cape Ann with rich blues and lively impasto sea foam signed Chris Benvie, oil on board, in oak frame (U92612L)
France circa 1860 architectural wood and metal birdcage with bird perches and doors (AZ30) sitting atop an English 1810 center table or gueridon with a marble top on a mahogany base (AT92)
Antique ruins, a striped-silk canopy, a colonnade and moldings… the trompe-l’oeil decor in Roberto Peregalli’s Milan apartment acknowledges the personal influence of Renzo Mongiardino, a decorator with a passion for nostalgic style. Combining with Roman statuary, architectural models and theological pictures, the paint work adds another layer of theatricality to an interior already richly suggestive of past lives. 
