20 bedrooms villa, 2300 m²

Novi Ligure, Alessandria (province)

Christie's International Real Estate - Milan Exclusive is pleased to offer for sale a magnificent historic villa in Novi Ligure, called La Capannina, surrounded by the beautiful panorama of a 4-hectare park, fully fenced. This is a stately residence in an excellent state of preservation with a total area of about 2300 square meters, including a villa on three levels, an annex and over 400 square meters of various easements.

According to an ancient legend, the name "La Capannina" derives from the fact that, in 1400-1500, a brigand who was hunted down by the gendarmes of Novi took refuge on the hill then thick with vegetation and built himself a wooden hut. This episode is remembered by an ancient statue depicting a brigand and a "hunting hall" with walls and inlays of fine wood.

Later the hut was enlarged and transformed into a statelier home by the Genoese nobleman, admiral and politician Andrea Doria, whose initials are found in one of the paved squares in front of the villa. The monogram "A.D." can also be seen in the center of the floor of the reception hall.

The upper part of the villa was built in 1800, when the estate became the property of Marquis Balbi. The celebrated Italian painter Barabino was commissioned to decorate it, and he painted the halls with his wonderfully inimitable frescoes, among which are, in the reception hall, portraits of the 4 men who united Italy: Victor Emmanuel, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour and Giuseppe Mazzini. The columns, Carrara marble fireplaces, statues, staircases and Venetian mosaics underscore this glorious family's love of elegance and refinement.

From the end of the 1800s until the mid-1900s the villa was owned by the Sacco del Santo family, whose last descendant, Marquis Domenico was a great lover of plants and gardens, and it is to him and his travels that we owe the many varieties of flowers present, including the stupendous Russian roses that bloom even in winter.

A thousand evocative corners, the balustrades, wells, berceau and period statues, among which the Bacchus surrounded by the 4 seasons stands out, give the eye the pleasure of being able to relive, through images, fragments of the past and today the Villa Capannina is a perfect combination of elegance and majesty in a timeless space. The year of construction is unknown, but since the building of the little church and the medieval fireplace with the ancient fresco date back to the 1600s, the villa should also date back to the 1600s. The villa also has outdoor facilities for possible receptions and conferences.

The property is about an hour from Milan, Turin, and the San Remo casino. A few kilometers from Novi Ligure, there are three major golf courses and the Serravalle Designer Outlet.

*This information and floor plans are for reference only and do not constitute contractual items.*