Villa Sartorio, today the seat of the Civico Museo Sartorio of Trieste, is an elegant bourgeois villa built in the XVIII century and expanded in the course of the nineteenth century in neoclassical style.
History of the Sartorio Family
Originally the property of the Sartorio family, originating from Sanremo and dedicated to commerce, the villa is located a short distance from the sea and is surrounded by a large garden.
- 1838: Pietro Sartorio and his wife Giuseppina Fontana decided to settle there, thus giving origin to the Triestine branch of the family.
- 1836: Giuseppina was the sole owner.
- Subsequently, the villa passed to the children and then to the last heir, the baroness Anna Segrè Sartorio.
During the Habsburg Period
During the Habsburg period, Villa Sartorio represented the typical residence of a wealthy bourgeois family of Trieste, intertwining its events with the social and cultural history of the city.
World War II and Post-War Period
In the first post-war period and during the Second World War:
- 1943: The villa was requisitioned by the German troops.
- Subsequently it passed under the control of the partisan army of Marshal Tito.
- Then to the Allied Military Government.
Establishment of the Museum
Upon the death of the baroness Anna Sartorio in 1946, the entire property, with the original furnishings and art collections, was donated to the Comune di Trieste with a bond of inalienability to be transformed into a museum.
The Civico Museo Sartorio was inaugurated in 1954, presenting itself as a refined example of "casa museo" where the furnishings, the mementos and the works of art tell the life of the family and of nineteenth-century Trieste.
Architectural Features
Architecturally, the entrance is characterized by a portico with three arches with a female nude in marble that leads to the bookshop area, and the villa overlooks a lush garden that also includes a chapel and a greenhouse.
Restoration and Discoveries
In the years 2003-2006, important restoration works were carried out thanks to the Comune di Trieste and private patrons, during which under the basement floor remains of a Roman domus from the I century A.D. were discovered, testimony of the continuous historical stratification of the area, called 'dei Santi Martiri' since the Middle Ages due to the presence of lands belonging to religious orders.
Today
Today Villa Sartorio represents an important cultural hub, which preserves not only the memory of the Sartorio family, but also various deposited collections, enriching the cultural offer of the Civici Musei di Storia ed Arte of Trieste.