Nature's Estate

The Villa Spedalotto was built in the Neoclassical style as a summer retreat by an enamored husband for his rich wife, a once nun who renounced her vows to marry- obviously the feeling of amour was mutual. The Villa looks out on the Tyrrhenian Sea in Sicily. Fortunately the Villa stayed in the family and thrived with a restoration that maintains the authenticity and a seemingly untouched quality in the interiors.

Four Rooms in the Villa were designed for and dedicated to the art of intimate and brilliant conversation. The Dining Room with its paintings caught my eye and referred me back to some photographs I had recently purchased. The decorations in the Dining Room are of pagan dieties, birds, wild creatures and flowers-all painted by Elia Intergugliemi, as were all the house's frescoes. The creatures~ of course~ are what drew me in.

Dining Room at Spedalotto, photograph by Deidi von Schaewen

a detail of the Dining Room (photograph Schawen)

creatures in the Dining Room

The above mentioned Photographs are by Sharon Montrose and what I fell in love with is the stillness of the subjects-the living, darting, flitting, scrambling creatures- in repose~ pose. What is it?-the soft white still background, the posed nature? Montrose the artist? They are captivating. Take a look...

my favorite- Porcupine

another favorite- Owl

Vulture