Villa Crespi Ai Ronchi, Vigevano, Pavia, Lombardy

A masterpiece of Italian rationalism, Villa Crespi is a rare example of a hunting lodge from the second half of the 1930s. Vittorio Crespi left the Milanese architect Giuseppe De Finetti carte blanche for its realisation. Its design shows influences from architect Adolf Loos, whom De Finetti had met in the 1920s during his stay in Vienna before settling permanently in Milan.

The villa, severe on the outside and made entirely of exposed brick, has three floors around a central body with 8-metre high ceilings. One floor is entirely dedicated to hunting, one floor to halls and one floor to rooms. For the interiors, De Finetti chose precious parquets and boiseries in Lebanese cedar and Slavonian oak, on the walls frescoes by Gianfilippo Uselllini.

The villa is in an excellent state of preservation and has no historical stratifications, so it arrives unaltered as it was designed. What makes the villa unique is the attention paid to the relationship with the surrounding landscape thanks to the openings and large windows, the semicircular terrace and the “ladies” bridge’ overlooking a vast four-hectare park. Elements that create a direct connection between man, nature and the Ticino Park.

The villa was designed to offer maximum comfort to guests after hunting trips. Illustrious personalities who have stayed there include European nobles such as Duke Philip of Edinburgh and the prince consort of the Queen of the Netherlands, as well as French and Spanish aristocrats, statesmen and well-known art and entertainment professionals.