Park of the Three Villas

The Three Villas Park: urban greenery overlooking the Oglio River in the heart of Palazzolo.

The Parco delle Tre Ville is an urban green space in the center of Palazzolo, the most historically significant of the many municipal green spaces. It is bordered to the south by the so-called Rocha Magna and extends north to the junction of Via Zanardelli and Via Sgrazzutti, on the eastern terrace overlooking the Oglio River.

A locus amoenus between architecture and landscape: three villas between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

The park takes its name from the presence of three villas, built in this area between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a tangible sign of the taste of the ruling class of the time and which make the park a locus amoenus, characterized by the perfect combination of architecture and landscape.

Villa Küpfer and other residences: technology, industry, and new residences

Villa Küpfer, built in 1891 by Swiss industrialist Emilio Küpfer, founder of a cutting-edge cotton spinning company, was built for the first time. The same technological upgrade distinguished the industrialist’s villa, designed to be equipped with electrical, heating, and plumbing systems. Two other villas were built nearby: Villa Ugo Küpfer and Villa Lanfranchi.

Comparing Styles: Nordic Taste, Eclecticism, and Italian Liberty at Villa Lanfranchi

If Villa Küpfer presents the typical characteristics of an architecture with an evident Nordic taste, with compact volumes and pointed profiles, and Villa Ugo Küpfer displays a more eclectic architecture, characterised by the mixture of motifs from beyond the Alps and from the peninsula, such as the turret with a roof terrace, Villa Lanfranchi is a notable example of the expression of Italian Liberty: the building, home to the Municipal Library from 1972 to 2006, was built within the first decade of the 20th century, designed by the Turin architect Eugenio Mollino (1873-1953) and then expanded in the 1930s with an intervention led by the Bergamo architect Giulio Paleni (1888-1960).

Villa Lanfranchi: Art Nouveau lines, decorations, and a tradition of illustrious guests

The two-story villa is a perfect example of Art Nouveau style. Unlike more eclectic buildings with elaborate decorations, it stands out for its clean lines and volumes, the elegance of its window decorations, the balcony, the balustrades, the geometric cornices, and the decorative wrought iron inserts, with profiles that seem to anticipate the architecture of the mid-20th century.
The villa also features typical elements of elegant Art Nouveau architecture, such as the turret with a covered terrace, the terrace, the numerous square windows, multiple entrances, and a large English-style garden: all elements worthy of a residence that, according to tradition, welcomed highly prestigious guests such as Queen Elena of Montenegro, wife of King Emmanuel III.