Livorno Villa Fabbricotti

Villa Fabbricotti, from a luxurious private residence to the Biblioteca Labronica

 

The Villa was built by the Medici family, probably for Ferdinando I, as a residence. At the end of the 19th century, Bernardo Fabbricotti bought it from the previous owner and began to modify it. The project, designed by the architect Vincenzo Micheli, foresaw the expansion and arrangement of the park.The access of the property was on Via Roma near the stables and the houses intended for servants, then two other entrances were opened on the current Piazza Matteotti and on Viale della Libertà with gates decorated with marble vases. Inside were green avenues and flower meadows, in addition to a greenhouse and a nursery; there were pines, palms, magnolias, holm oaks, eucalyptus, cypresses and cedars.

A place dedicated to horse riding, a theater and an ice rink for the family were also built.

In 1936 the Fabbricotti family was forced to sell the property to the municipality that reduced the area to make space for the new district. During the war it was the headquarters of the German and then of the American command; to date the villa is home to the Labronica Library.

This collects 120,000 books in its storehouses, including an edition of the Encyclopédie of 1700, 1,500 manuscripts and 60,000 autographs such as Leopardi and Galielo Galilei.

In the gardens of the Villa there is also a library for children with more than 14,000 books.

The library, founded in 1816, and the origins of the beautiful Villa make this place rich in history and charm suitable for book lovers and for those who want to relax strolling through the park.

Photo: I, Etienne (Li)Livorno – Villa FabbricottiCC BY-SA 3.0

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