Historic 1892 Villa Designed by Engineer Enrico Schalk, Inspired by the Lost Castle of Bussana Vecchia

A Monumental Tower, Rediscovered 19th-Century Wall Paintings and Views over the Ligurian Sea

Rising above the Ligurian Sea, Villa Natta-Soleri is known locally as Il Castello di Bussana Nuova – the Castle of Bussana Nuova. With its commanding tower and distinctive silhouette, the residence has an unmistakably castle-like presence in the landscape.

The villa was built around 1892 for Raffaele Natta-Soleri, during the years in which Bussana Nuova was being developed following the devastating earthquake of 1887.

Natta-Soleri’s vision for his new residence was closely connected to the history of Bussana. He wanted to evoke the castle of the old settlement of Bussana, destroyed together with much of the village by the earthquake, but to reinterpret the idea of a castle as a modern and sophisticated late 19th-century residence.

The result was not a reconstruction of a medieval fortress, but a new architectural statement: a villa in which the memory of the old castle was transformed through the architectural language and comforts of its own time.

This dialogue between past and future is given particular resonance by the Latin inscription that still survives above the monumental entrance:

VENTURIBUS EXACTI NON IMMEMOR AEVI

The phrase may be translated as “For future generations, while preserving the memory of times past.” In the context of the villa, the words acquire a special significance: a new house conceived for the future while consciously preserving the memory of what had come before.

Among the villa’s surviving historical documents is an especially important piece of evidence: an original architectural drawing signed by Ing. Enrico Schalk. The drawing records the floor plans and sections of the residence together with its principal façade, monumental tower and numerous architectural details, providing a direct documentary connection with the villa’s original design.

Engineer Enrico Schalk and the Original Design

Behind the distinctive architecture of Villa Natta-Soleri was Ing. Enrico Schalk, whose name and professional title are preserved on the original architectural drawing of the building.

The surviving plans reveal the ambition and attention to detail behind the project. They document not only the arrangement of the principal floors, but also the carefully considered proportions of the façade, tower, staircases, windows, entrances and ornamental architectural elements.

Working with Raffaele Natta-Soleri’s desire to evoke the lost castle of Bussana in a more modern form, Schalk created a residence that combines the monumentality and symbolism of a castle with the refinement of a prestigious late 19th-century Italian villa.

The design belongs to the architectural culture of late 19th-century Italian Historicism, enriched by pronounced Neo-Renaissance and Classical influences. The result is far more than a conventional country villa: Villa Natta-Soleri was conceived as a substantial and highly representative private residence, with an architectural presence approaching that of a small palazzo.

The surviving signed architectural drawing provides direct documentary evidence linking Ing. Enrico Schalk to Villa Natta-Soleri and its original design.

Italian Historicism and Neo-Renaissance Influences

Architecturally, Villa Natta-Soleri is a striking expression of the historicist taste that characterised many prestigious Italian residences of the late 19th century.

Profiled window surrounds, pronounced cornices, balustrades, medallions and the substantial natural-stone base recall elements of the Italian Renaissance villa and palazzo tradition.

The monumental tower, however, introduces a more romantic and almost fortified element into this otherwise ordered composition. Rising prominently above the main body of the house, it can also be understood in relation to Raffaele Natta-Soleri’s desire to preserve the memory of the lost castle of Bussana.

The tower consequently became much more than an architectural feature. It gave the residence its identity and explains the name by which the property became known locally: Il Castello di Bussana Nuova.

Inside, the historicist architecture is complemented by decorative wall paintings incorporating flowers, birds, branches, landscapes, bamboo and other naturalistic and Japonist motifs, reflecting artistic influences that circulated internationally during the closing decades of the 19th century.

A Hidden 19th-Century Interior Rediscovered

Villa Natta-Soleri remained in the hands of the Natta-Soleri family and their descendants for more than a century. In 2017, the property passed into the ownership of a Swedish private owner.

During the restoration that followed, later wall coverings and layers of old wallpaper were carefully removed. What emerged beneath them was an unexpected and remarkable survival from the villa’s original decorative scheme.

Extensive late 19th-century decorative wall paintings gradually came back to light. Flowers, birds, branches, landscapes, bamboo and ornamental compositions had remained concealed beneath successive layers of wallpaper and paste for generations.

Their rediscovery became an important point of departure for the wider restoration of the house, undertaken with local craftsmen and an accomplished decorative painter.

The work therefore went beyond the renovation of a historic residence. It allowed significant elements of Villa Natta-Soleri’s original late 19th-century decorative character to emerge once again, restoring a visual connection with the interiors experienced by its earliest inhabitants.

Ground Floor – The Representative Heart of the Villa

The ground floor, extending to approximately 209 sq m, is reached through the villa’s monumental entrance. An elegant marble staircase immediately establishes the formal character of the residence.

This level contains the principal reception rooms and dining room, characterised by generous proportions, high ceilings, parquet floors, decorative fireplaces and the rediscovered wall paintings.

Wide openings and long internal sightlines create a natural progression between the principal rooms, while the adjoining terrace and mature Mediterranean garden extend the reception areas into the landscape.

The relationship between the interiors, terraces and garden remains one of the defining qualities of the house.

First Floor – The Family’s Private Quarters

The first floor, measuring approximately 181 sq m, has a more private character. It contains a series of generously proportioned bedrooms and private rooms arranged around the central hall and main staircase.

Large windows bring abundant natural light into the interiors, while the sea-facing rooms enjoy views towards the Ligurian Sea.

The clear distinction between the formal reception rooms on the ground floor and the family’s private accommodation above reflects the social and domestic organisation typical of a substantial late 19th-century residence.

The Tower Room – A Private Drawing Room Above the Riviera

At the summit of the house lies one of Villa Natta-Soleri’s most distinctive spaces: the Tower Room, with an impressive ceiling height of approximately 4.40 metres.

According to Cav. Raffaele Natta-Soleri, a great-great-grandson of the villa’s original owner, whose family retained the property until its sale in 2017, the Tower Room served as a private drawing and reception room for the family and their guests.

From this elevated position, the family could look out across the garden and surrounding coastal landscape towards the horizon of the Ligurian Sea.

On the same level are four smaller rooms traditionally associated with the household staff. The organisation of this floor therefore preserves traces of the social structure of the original household, with family and service spaces still legible within the architecture.

More than any other feature, the tower defines the identity of Villa Natta-Soleri. Conceived as part of a modern residence inspired by the memory of Bussana’s lost castle, it gave rise to the name that has endured locally for generations: Il Castello di Bussana Nuova.

Lower Ground Floor and Independent Caretaker’s Apartment

The lower ground floor extends to approximately 266 sq m and contains garage, storage and technical areas associated with the operation of the property.

It also incorporates an independent caretaker’s apartment, comprising a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom, together with a separate laundry room.

The presence of dedicated service accommodation continues a practical tradition long associated with substantial private estates of this kind.

According to the existing plans, Villa Natta-Soleri extends to approximately 821 sq m over four levels, in addition to its terraces, mature gardens and other outdoor areas.

Il Castello di Bussana Nuova – Remembering the Past, Built for the Future

With its late 19th-century historicist architecture, Neo-Renaissance influences, monumental tower, rediscovered decorative paintings, grand reception rooms and mature Mediterranean garden, Villa Natta-Soleri is a distinctive historic residence on the Italian Riviera.

Its architecture still reveals the way in which the house was originally lived in: from the formal salons and dining room of the principal floor to the family’s private quarters above; from the former staff rooms to the secluded drawing room at the top of the tower.

More than 130 years of history remain inscribed in the fabric of the building.

Yet the story of Villa Natta-Soleri reaches further back. Raffaele Natta-Soleri’s ambition to evoke the castle lost in the destruction of old Bussana gave the new residence a symbolic connection with the history of the village. In the hands of Ing. Enrico Schalk, that idea was transformed into a modern residence for a new era.

The surviving original architectural drawing, signed by Ing. Enrico Schalk, preserves the documentary connection between the villa as it stands today and the architectural vision from which it emerged at the end of the 19th century.

And above its monumental entrance, the words VENTURIBUS EXACTI NON IMMEMOR AEVI continue to express the idea at the heart of the house: looking towards those who will come after, without forgetting the age that has passed.

Villa Natta-Soleri – Il Castello di Bussana Nuova – is a house born from the memory of a lost castle: a place where architecture, art and more than a century of family history meet the Italian Riviera, with the Ligurian Sea as their enduring backdrop.