Villa del Colle del Cardinale

The Colle del Cardinale Villa was meant originally – around 1575 -  as a summer residence for the Cardinal Fulvio della Corgna who, very probably, ordered  the project from Galeazzo Alessi, a famous Architect of Perugia of the time.

The entrance is at the end of a long sloping boulevard, at the end of which a baroque staircase leading to a terrace. The compact structure, with a rectangular shape, is in three levels; outside the characteristics elements are the stringcourse ledge, the ashlar of the corners and portal, the balcony, the windows surmounted by triangular and rounded tympanums alternatively and the little houses at the corners. The entrance to the “piano nobile” (Main floor) through a sumptuous honour staircase.  The central hall has a wooden coffered ceiling and frescoed walls by Salvio Savini. Several painted decorations were added in the XVIII Century by Marcello Leopardi, Pietro Carattoli and  Carlo Labruzzi , who decorated the dining room with the trompe l’oeil technique. 

On the left side of the villa a winter greenhouse garden on three levels connected by stairs while on the right (north side) an English-style park with a lake and islands, created in the second half of the XIX Century instead of the original Italian Garden. The naturalistic complex, beside the big visive impact, has a strong scientific importance for the variety of botanic species.