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Villa Bettina di Santa Marinella

The Villa Bettina di Santa Marinella is in Liberty style (Art Nouveau), certainly the most famous in the town (currently owned by Dr. Cuffaro and originally Villa Di Zero), it is located in front of the very central "Passeggiata".

Its construction date coincides, in the national context, with the sunset of the Liberty style, this delay is mainly due to a lack of seaside stylistic models and the need to refer to a city architecture.

From a first analysis, the appearance is that of a solid traditional architectural structure, almost as a demonstration of how much, especially in Italy, one was jealous of one's past and a taste for tradition was rooted. But the real novelty appears in the details: rich stucco molding (under the roof, the terraces and in the corner solutions) is juxtaposed to a poorly articulated plan, as befits a house located near the sea, as if to challenge the sea salt carried by the wind.

Many of the openings show rounded outlines that have neither the circular shape of the Roman arch nor the pointed one of the Gothic arch as a reference, but rather a new conformation characteristic of this style.

One of the typical symbols of Liberty is the dragonfly, the main theme of the stained glass window that dominates the hall. But, in this case the form becomes a completely secondary element in the face of the absolute prevalence of color, which through all its iridescences, can express itself completely, thanks also to the so-called "favrile" *. Its creation derives from Tiffany products and affirms the importance given to craftsmanship at that time.

Villa Bettina is a fragment of Italian Liberty, which maintains high levels of good taste and craftsmanship. The latter techniques were not secondary in a period in which there was a strong need to recognize oneself in a "symbol" and high quality craftsmanship.

* "favrile": mixture patented in 1880 obtained by exposing molten glass to sublimated metal vapors.

Particular attention should be paid to the wrought iron works, gates and railings of the Villa.

Here the reference to the Art Nouveau style leaves no doubt. A new idea of nature, far from the banal imitation of flowers, plants and trees, has taken possession of the material giving a sense of dynamism and energy.

In 1905 Eugène Grasset wrote in his Méthode de la composition ornementale "Every curve gives the idea of movement and life". SOURCE: arteliberty

 

Map: Villa Bettina di Santa Marinella