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A (brief) history of the place
As already mentioned, Villa Bruno belongs to the group of 121 villas of the so-called Golden Mile, that Tyrrhenian portion located between Vesuvius and the sea where these small wonders of architecture have been recorded.
Villa Bruno in particular, built between the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, belonged initially to the noble family Monteleone, and was later sold to the family Lieto.
During the period when the Lieto family were the owners of the building, they often had illustrious guests for moments of leisure or vacation, doctors, magistrates, jurists, and men of the church including Cardinal Luigi Ruffo Scilla, archbishop of Naples at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The history of the villa merged with that of the Italian steel industry (or Duosicilian, given the time) when from 1816 it housed the important foundry Righetti, which also happened the fusion of the historic horses of the two monumental statues depicting Charles of Bourbon and Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and placed in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples from 1829.
In the foundries there was also the fusion of the bronze monument to Pulcinella (a classic character who originated in the 17th century commedia dell’arte and became a repertoire character in the Neapolitan marionette), which now adorns the main courtyard of the Villa. Francesco Righetti, the trusted founder of the sculptor Antonio Canova, who was the commissioner of the two sculptures, headed the company. The artist spent a lot of time in Naples during the realization of the two works, and thanks to his influence he managed to locate the industrial plant in San Giorgio despite the protests of the many nobles who lived nearby.
The reason why Righetti chose San Giorgio to build the foundry is probably linked to the collaboration with the Marquis Cerio who, a great admirer of Canova, interceded favourably to allow Righetti to establish the structure at Villa Bruno notwithstanding the strong protests of the neighbouring nobles.
The environment and architectural space
The main structure has a neoclassical appearance, and maintains overall the original form of the project. The influence of Neapolitan Baroque is visible in the rear prospectus, which still preserves the large lowered arch and the corresponding main balcony without the ornaments that connected it to the opening below.
This balcony, together with the large terraces to lookout, remember the precise will of the builders, to enjoy the natural beauty that the Vesuvian scenery offered, a characteristic that is visible in all the monumental villas of the place.
From the entrance portal you can clearly see the door that frames, in a desired perspective, the niche at the bottom of the estate. This scenographic effect is rendered by the coincidence of the main axis of the architectural plan with the perspective one that begins with the atrium and the subsequent passing vestibule and ends with the final baroque aedicule.
Inside Villa Bruno
The interior of the villa, on the other hand, as can be seen from the main floor, still preserves intact the rococo doors and the nineteenth-century decorations used to reproduce nature outside even in the halls inside the building.
