Villa Pastrone

Villa Pastrone is an elegant Art Nouveau residence consisting of two buildings set within an 8,000-square-metre park in the Lanzo Valleys in the small hamlet of Ricchiardi.

Spanning three floors with 26 rooms and a dépendance that houses a ballroom, the Villa is surrounded by a park adorned with centuries-old trees, an elegant fountain and statues that boast significant artistic value.

Villa Pastrone formerly belonged to Giovanni Pastrone, the director of the film “Cabiria” (1914), who was considered a pioneer of the ‘seventh art’, acknowledging his significant role in the early development of cinema as a creator of Italian silent films.

After achieving international fame with “La Caduta di Troia” (‘The Fall of Troy’) in 1911, three years later Pastrone went on to direct the monumental feature film that has gone down in history as being the most iconic Italian silent film. It is said that some scenes of the epic, partially written by Gabriele D’Annunzio, were actually filmed inside the Villa. The property subsequently fell into disrepair for many years, but thanks to its new owners, Vittorio Cassano and Stefano Caraffa Braga, it is now being restored to its former glory.

The history of Villa Pastrone
The first building was erected in 1899 by Giuseppe Rapelli, who was unable to complete it and sold it in 1902 to Oscar Salussoglia. Salussoglia finished the main villa and constructed the guesthouse, including a ballroom on the first floor and several rooms on the ground floor designated for entertaining guests and playing billiards.

In 1922, Salussoglia sold the entire complex to Giovanni Pastrone. Between 1921 and 1924, the main building was modernised by engineer Giuseppe Maria Giulietti, adopting late Art Nouveau features. Sold in the 1970s by Pastrone’s heirs, the property changed hands several times before being purchased in 2023 by the current owners.

Today, it still preserves the original early 20th-century floors and frescoes, particularly in the richly decorated and fully furnished ballroom.

Visits are available by appointment only.