VILLA CORINNA - WELCOME PACK

Some History Villa Corinna, which stands at the center of an estate encompassing about 2 hectares, and stretches along the lower eastern flank of Mount Bellenda, represents one of the most important historical architectural manifestations of the Piana di Latte. A location traditionally favoured by the aristocracy of Ventimiglia, and Piedmont, in which they would spend their summer holidays.

The Villa is the result of several building phases: the most ancient, fundamental part of the building, characterized by the central structure of highest elevation, presumably dating back to the first half of the sixteenth century, a time in which many such buildings were constructed throughout western Liguria. These were watchtowers and defence towers, built to ward against the Turkish barbarian invasions which were particularly frequent at this time.

Villa Corinna is one of the few sixteenth-century buildings in the area to have retained the support structure of the drawbridge: this feature, which today resembles a U-shaped structure, occupies the entire side of the central part of the building and extends to the height of the second floor. At the center of this structure the ancient drawbridge is attached, across which you can still gain access to the building.

The Villa allegedly maintained its original appearance until the second half of the nineteenth century when the entire property was still known as "Torretta Soprana", to distinguish it from another property that is located in the lower lying neighbourhood where there was a similar construction (now known as Casa Ammirati).

The tower houses of the Piana di Latte feature in the interesting memoirs of Miss Gretton, an English tourist who in 1854 had enjoyed hospitality for a few days in Villa Honesto Otio.

At the current stage of research, the commissioning family name is not known, but we know that in the nineteenth century, presumably in the first half, it was bought by Andrea Biancheri, a renowned merchant from Ventimiglia, who in 1868 left it to his three children. In 1881, based upon the division of paternal assets, Villa Corinna was inherited by Emanulele Bancheri the second who, after a few years, added an extra level to the building.

The central section of the building, or rather the original manifestation of the tower house, was volumetrically increased although, at present, it is still possible to distinguish the original body from later additions: a first expansion occurred during the twentieth century in the 1920s, when a square structure consisting of of two floors was constructed on the south faรงade.

Due to the natural slope of the land, the Villa has three floors on the west and south 3