In the early years of the 19th century, Alessandro Papafava, fresh from his architectural studies at the Academy of Santa Lucia in Rome and a friend of eminent artists like Antonio Canova, Angelica Kauffmann, and Sir Thomas Lawrence, decided with his brother Francesco to transform the 16th-century hunting lodge on their lands at Frassanelle into a beautiful neoclassical villa.
Before reshaping the hunting lodge located on the hill in the middle of the estate, the family, when visiting Frassanelle, stayed in the 17th-century gastaldia at the foot of the hill. The term gastaldia has medieval origins and indicated an administrative district; in more recent times, it was applied to large agricultural estates, particularly to the residence of the gastaldo.
Even today, the gastaldia of Parco Frassanelle is the center of the property's administration, housing the offices, reception, ticket office, and five holiday apartments. The large agricultural spaces like the cellar, the plowed fields, the yards, and the barn have been renovated to host weddings, events, private parties, and public activities.
A monumental staircase connects the area surrounding the gastaldia to the top of the hill where the retaining wall of the embankment supporting the villa is located. The villa, characterized by a typical square plant from the 16th century, develops upwards over three floors and features four symmetrical turrets with sloping roofs at its corners. The chapel located at the northeast edge of the embankment pairs with an identical building situated to the southeast; both owe their current appearance to restoration work carried out in 1771.
The architectural project for the transformation of the estate, by Alessandro Papafava, also includes a delightful Ionic temple placed in an open space in the middle of the park. The temple was intended as a beautification of the estate and accommodation for the head gardener, and today it has been adapted into a comfortable holiday home surrounded by nature.
Subsequently, during the Romantic era, the nephew Alberto expanded the park around the villa. He redesigned his estate to include all climatic and geological types found in nature within a relatively small space. In an alternation of sunny meadows and shady paths in the forest, among gentle hills and wide plains, tree species typical of arid climates like the holm oak, of cold climates like the fir, of Mediterranean climates like the pine, oak, and elm, and of exotic climates like the cedar, ginkgo, taxodium, and many, many others can be found. Alberto's work culminated in 1876 with the start of construction of the evocative caves complete with a pond, stalactites, and stalagmites!
Below the Villa, in fact, artificial caves of great charm have been excavated to amaze, entertain, and captivate visitors along an underground loop that stretches for about 300 meters. The works lasted 8 years; together with engineer Anacleto Rossi, Alberto created an environment closely resembling a natural cave. Even today, visitors are amazed by the similarity to a real cave and the grandeur of the work.
In the valleys of the estate where Alberto Papafava had a lake excavated to reclaim the land, the famous Frassanelle Golf Club was recently established.
Both the park and the caves are open to visitors on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from the first Saturday of spring to the last Sunday of November, while the villa can only be visited with a guide on Sundays from April 25 until the last Sunday of November.
HOURS:
Opening Saturday 20 March, closing Sunday 28 November.
Park: open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM until sunset.
Caves: open Saturday from 2:00 PM until half an hour before sunset, Sunday from 10:30 AM until half an hour before sunset.
Villa: open on Sundays starting from April 25, 6 guided tours only by reservation.
