The cellars

The cellars of Villa Rusconi Clerici merit a section of their own.

Originally they contained the great kitchen, the laundry, the larder, the wine cellar, the coal cellar, and so on.  Over the years these functions gradually declined, and the large empty spaces were left to languish in dusty silence.  

Then, when we first began to organise weddings in the villa, some adventurous visitors discovered the cellars, and were so struck by their air of silent immobility that we decided to renovate them and bring them back to the land of the living.  As a result, our guests can now make use of these large, immensely atmospheric spaces.  Terracotta vaulting, antique statues, granite pillars and rocaille walls help to create an atmosphere reminiscent of an ancient nymphaeum in the garden entrance, which gives directly on to thgreat lawn sloping down to the lake, edged with roses, azaleas and rhododendrons.

 
The foyer, the billiard hall, the old kitchen and the red room can all be made into one space seating 200 dinner guests.  Heating is provided in the coldest months by traditional terracotta stoves and modern heaters.

The old billiard hall, with its original 19^th century parquet floor and frescoed ceiling, doubles as a ballroom during dinner-dances.  

And if dancing should give you a bit of an appetite again, pizza and focacce can be baked for a midnight feast in the impressive wood-fired oven in the old kitchen, or if you prefer, a taste of wine, cheese and salami in the atmospheric wine cellar. 
 

When we see the ancient cellars once again brought back to life, we can picture them like those in old English films, providing food, water, wine, freshly baked bread, sheets, firewood and heat for the whole of the great house, as happened a hundred years ago.

A gallery connects directly the pavilion to the villa, avoiding bad weather risks fo the guests.