Villa Argentina
An 1868 villa reborn in 1926 as a Liberty jewel, with Galileo Chini’s majolica and Giuseppe Biasi’s “Persian Wedding” in the ballroom.
At a glance
Set back from the seafront in the streets of Viareggio, Villa Argentina began life in 1868 and was transformed in 1926 into one of the most complete Liberty interiors on the Tuscan coast. Galileo Chini supplied the majolica; the Sardinian painter Giuseppe Biasi filled the ballroom with a monumental triptych of a Persian wedding. Restored over many years by the Province of Lucca, the villa is now a public venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
Key facts
- Built: 1868
- Liberty transformation: 1926
- Ceramics: Galileo Chini (majolica fired at Borgo San Lorenzo)
- Ballroom paintings: Giuseppe Biasi, “Persian Wedding” triptych (1930)
- Restored by: the Province of Lucca
- Today: a cultural venue for exhibitions and events
- Coordinates: 43.874825, 10.246063 — Google Maps
History
The villa dates to 1868, but its character was made sixty years later. In 1926 it was remodelled in the Liberty taste then sweeping Viareggio — a transformation attributed to the architect Alfredo Belluomini — and the best hands of the moment were brought in to decorate it: Galileo Chini, whose ceramic workshops at Borgo San Lorenzo fired the majolica, and Giuseppe Biasi, who in 1930 painted the ballroom with an exotic triptych of a Persian wedding, the spouses borne on elephants.
Restored over many years by the Province of Lucca, the villa reopened as a public cultural space, its decorated rooms now the setting for exhibitions and events.
What you see
Outside, the villa wears the restrained ornament of 1920s Liberty. The drama is within: the majolica of Chini and, above all, the ballroom, where Biasi’s “Persian Wedding” turns the room into a single exotic scene, an echo of the Orientalism that ran through Italian decorative art between the wars.
It is a building best read as a total interior — architecture, ceramics and painting conceived together.
Practical information
- Open to the public as a cultural venue; check the Province of Lucca for current exhibitions and hours.
- The interiors — Chini’s majolica and Biasi’s ballroom — are the reason to visit.
- A short distance back from the central Passeggiata.
Getting there
Viareggio is on the Genoa–Rome and Lucca railway lines. The villa stands in the streets behind the northern seafront, a walk or short ride from the station.
Nearby
- Grand Hotel Royal — Belluomini’s twin-towered Liberty hotel
- Gran Caffè Margherita and the Liberty Passeggiata
- GAMC “Lorenzo Viani” — Viareggio’s gallery of modern art
Sources
- Provincia di Lucca — Villa Argentina
- Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali (ICCD)
- Comune di Viareggio — Liberty heritage
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