Villa Schiff-Giorgini

Villa Schiff-Giorgini is a splendid 19th-century villa that now houses the headquarters of the Montignoso municipality and the Municipal Library, is located within a large park full of centuries-old plants and is the site of numerous cultural events.

The villa, with its architectural planes interconnected by short staircases connecting the garden to the building, has a history linked to the Giorgini family, originally from Lucca. Along with the Sforza and Bertagnini families, the Giorgini family also well represented that Montignoso nobility actively involved in the political and cultural scene of the last two centuries. Construction began in the early 18th century, subsequently the structure was modified several times over time. The earliest records of the villa date back to 1713; it was decidedly smaller in size than it is today, and the first structural work was carried out as early as 1764 by Captain Giorgio Giorgini, as recounted by the date carved on the keystone of the entrance door. In the 19th century the villa and park were enlarged several times, especially in the second half of the century. By about 1874, thanks to a drawing recovered in an expense booklet that reproduces, among other things, both the floor plan and the room assignments, we know that the villa was significantly altered.

Casa Giorgini, from the mid-19th century, was frequented by many illustrious figures , who came here to rest as guests of the villa, including Antonio Rosmini, Bettino Ricasoli, and Massimo D’Azeglio.

A decidedly important figure in the villa’s history is Matilde Giorgini, the daughter of Giambattista Giorgini and Vittoria Manzoni, the daughter of Alessandro Manzoni. Matilde, after her marriage to the well-known German chemist Robert Schiff, re-established the family residence in Montignoso in 1893.

Today, Villa Schiff-Giorgini is used for a variety of cultural and social events. The villa hosts concerts, art exhibitions, weddings and other celebrations. It is also a popular venue for conferences and meetings due to its unique atmosphere and quiet location. The villa is a symbol of Montignoso’s historical and cultural richness and represents a link to the region’s past and continues to play an active role in the cultural and social life of the community.

In addition, in the rooms on the ground floor, the villa also houses the Civic Library, which has seen the “Documentation Center on the Gothic Line” established within it, housing a collection of documents, memorabilia, and photographs that narrate the events of World War II in the territory of the province of Massa-Carrara and Versilia. The museum has five set-ups with large illustrated explanatory panels on various events of the period, an interactive model depicting the route of the Gothic Line with the locations of the Allied and Nazi-Fascist positions, the villages affected, in 1944, by the heinous Nazi-Fascist massacres, and the places of the salient episodes of the partisan struggle. Also present is a multimedia room, in which through a number of screens various protagonists of those episodes, now elderly, recount the events of the Resistance, and a new exhibition room where material from the period, the result of donations, is displayed.