Its owner at the time deliberately chose a hill – opposite the village – as the location for his residence. This judicious choice gives a unique character to the building, allows a different and magnificent view of the valley and the village, as well as a discreet perspective on Mario Botta’s church in Mogno. All this makes the villa very special! The generous surrounding park – well planted with trees, hence the name “Pineta” (‘pine forest’ in Italian) – adds an exclusive touch.
This particular site, with such a different house, was then used for almost 30 years as a sanatorium and then allowed the Guglielmoni family, who became the owners in the 1960s, to distinguish themselves somewhat from the other guesthouses and hotels then present in the valley. Their account seems to attest to a “golden age” which, however, went into inexorable decline, due to the new leisure habits and aspirations of the guests, but also to a lack of investment and updating of the building. This “jewel” has thus become, over time, a decayed object whose past beauty and attractiveness could still be perceived here and there.
Villa Pineta today: In May 2020, we decided to buy Villa Pineta, its small outbuilding, its park and its woods with our own funds, in order to start a work of revaluation of the site, of the building – and indirectly – of the Val Lavizzara area, so deeply beautiful and singular.
After a detailed study of the building, we came to the following conclusion, together with the architects Brugger and Bernardini: the unfortunate superimpositions of style must be removed or reduced, the original volumes must be returned to as far as possible and a contemporary language must be used in a discreet way. All this in order to bring back to life the original forms and spaces of this wonderful Villa and to offer the guests a ‘travel through time’, close to life and far from routine.
