Villa Giulia was built in 1847 for the will of Bernardino Branca, the inventor of the famous Fernet liquor.
Bernardino’s son dedicated his home to his wife Giulia and started embellishment and enlargement works: he tried to extend the property in the most evocative direction, i.e. towards the lake.
In 1879, however, the structure collapsed ruinously, dragging with it, among other things, a majestic staircase whose remains still stand out during the dry periods. In order to avoid the repetition of the incident, preventive excavations at the bottom of the lake were subsequently made so as to reach a more solid and compact rock layer.
In the meantime, Cavalier Branca entrusted the Renovation Project of the Villa to architect Giuseppe Pirovano of Milan, who initially built the imposing entry gate, followed by the dock with a pergola terrace, a garden and some artificial caves. Near the access gate a chalet used at first for a concierge, was built; subsequently, it was turned into a billiard room. The garden was re-invented in English style.
Restoration interventions concerned the renovation of the semi-basement (630 m2), used as a storage depot at that time, and the creation of a new restroom in the Casina (small house) in the park; the refurbishment of this Villa also involved the creation of three multi-purpose rooms with secondary rooms, restrooms and a new bar.
The construction works carried out consisted in the demolition of some portions of the internal walls in stone and mortar, and their replacement with supporting metal framing or plastered bricks, with new positioning of the partitions.
Other demolitions affected trellis or plaster suspended ceilings, the plasterwork, the existing floors and their substrates, the removal of internal and external wooden fixtures and sanitary fittings, all with advanced degradation. In the course of the work, some unforeseen situations requiring specific works came up. The excavations for the construction of the new floorings and underlying technological installations, unveiled that the vertical bearing structures were simply placed on the existing “level” and that their texture made of stone and mortar contained many empty spaces. This situation required a safe installation of all the walls, even in view of the new internal openings to be carried out. In addition, the masonry walls had numerous openings for draining natural water, which, through channels in very bad conditions, crossed all the subsoil, flowed under the façade walls and headed toward the lake.
Therefore, solid bricks and mortar, as well as proper layers of waterproof sheaths were built beneath the walls to prevent the water from rising up, and the higher ruined parts of the walls were replaced by adopting the nip and tuck method. Finally, special foundations were developed along the entire perimeter of the masonry structures with openings and channels to convey the waters present toward the lake
SCHEDA LAVORO
