A setting of unusual ancestral beauty characterizes Villa d’ Ayala. Wrapped in a magical silence, it presents itself to the visitor as an almost unreal environment, isolated from the outside world. The park, which covers an area of seventeen hectares, represents with its woodland heritage an authentic green lung. Carefully maintained with masterly art, the Villa expresses in its fantastic sculptural creatures, in the caves, in the fountains, in the expertly pruned box hedges, all the refinemen read more
A setting of unusual ancestral beauty characterizes Villa d’ Ayala. Wrapped in a magical silence, it presents itself to the visitor as an almost unreal environment, isolated from the outside world. The park, which covers an area of seventeen hectares, represents with its woodland heritage an authentic green lung. Carefully maintained with masterly art, the Villa expresses in its fantastic sculptural creatures, in the caves, in the fountains, in the expertly pruned box hedges, all the refinement of its creator: the Marquis D. Giuseppe Maria Valva. This artistic legacy dates back to the end of the eighteenth century, but it was later, around 1867, that the Villa acquired greater splendor, through the work of the Marquis Francesco d’ Ayala-Valva. The Villa is surrounded along its perimeter by walls about three meters high. The entrance to the park opens into a small tower with a neo-Gothic door closed by a gate and surmounted by Ghibelline battlements. On the right of the avenue you can see the Chapel of the Madonna di Filermo, where the Knights of Malta annually celebrate a commemorative mass. Then you come across the “Coffee house”, with a neo-Gothic portico of six arches embellished by the sculptures of the Pacchiane, representing women in Lucanian costume. Once, in front, you could admire a “round lake with a castle inside with turrets at the four corners”. Currently the lake, described by the annalist De Meo, no longer exists and in place of the castle you can admire a fountain adorned with the figures of Diana and a bronze deer, while around it is the Italian garden, inhabited by the marble seasons of the year. At the end of the avenue a small tower supports the marble statue of Hercules. Every corner of the Villa is a mere surprise for the visitor. And so it is that during the journey you are enchanted by the presence of a neoclassical amphitheater, made up of hedges trimmed into stages, where dozens of marble busts of men and women, silently wait for the show to begin from the empty stage. An underground path is still astonishing, culminating in a cave, where there is the statue of Vulcan beating red-hot iron on the anvil. Here and there, as if hidden in the greenery, true sculptural masterpieces peep out: fantastic stone creatures, gods, nymphs and cherubs. Once you reach a semicircular square you come across the statues of the Muses, in front of which opens the door to the internal garden, enclosed by a wall, with paths that vaguely draw a harp; in the center a pool with human figures and fish. The area is crowned by dozens of marble busts. Two paths lead to the portico of the Castle with marble bas-reliefs by Donatello Gabrielli. Thus, magically inserted in the magnificence of the large park, is its splendid Castle. It stands in the area of the old baronial palace. The complex, due to the Norman origin of the marquis' house, reflects the architectural style of the time. It is all crenellated and at the northern point it is adjacent to a large tower called "fortino". The centuries-old trees, many of which were imported from different parts of the world and here well acclimatized, the tall trees, the botanical gardens with different floral motifs, the hedges pruned into geometric shapes make the landscape lush. Among the vastness and rarity of the tree species, the fountains - once with a thousand water games - and the paths, stand out - scattered with extreme good taste - valuable statues. The overall picture is completed by the cherry laurel paths, the very tall plane trees, the holm oak trees arranged in walls, the Italian and English gardens that make the place a true artistic labyrinth. read less
