State has right of first refusal as court puts Verdi’s villa up for sale. The composer’s heirs failed to agree on who would own and manage it, so it must be sold.
After years of judicial skirmishes and family disagreements, Villa Verdi in Sant’Agata di Villanova, Piacentino, will be put up for sale, probably at auction.
The official status will arrive with the order issued by the Court of Parma. The State will have the right of pre-emption. The sumptuous mansion hosted Giuseppe Verdi for half a century and was left to the heirs. They have never managed to find an agreement and since no one has the possibility to buy the others out, the property will have to be sold.
Verdi’s Villa – home full of memories
The legal battle lasted 20 years between the four Carrara Verdi siblings (Maria Mercedes, Ludovica, Angiolo and Emanuela (d.2010).
Angiolo Carrara Verdi has been managing the home of Sant’Agata since 2010, the year in which his mother died. Designed by Giuseppe Verdi, who moved there in 1851, inside the villa there are many memories of his life and his works.
“There is so much regret – explained Angiolo Carrara Verdi, speaking to Libertà – “it was only a matter of time. It was known that it would happen. Not finding an agreement, the Villa was destined for this unpleasant end. An ending that I would never have wished, but in front of which I can do nothing. I do not have the possibility to take over the shares of the others and therefore the house will be put up for sale “.
The Supreme Court has in fact confirmed that the legacy of Alberto Carrara Verdi, who disappeared in 2001, must be divided equally among the children. But there is nothing certain about the timing.
To remain a living house not cold museum
“I tried my best,” added Angiolo. “I tried to do my best, to keep it in the best possible way. Respected the will of the Maestro. He left it to the universal heir Maria Cristina Filomena because he wanted it to remain a living house, which had to continue to be a home. I therefore hope that those who intervene in the future will treat it in the same way, as a home. It cannot become just a cold museum.”
However, the case against the State remains open for Verdi’s correspondence. Expropriated from the Carrara Verdi family in 2017, they are kept in the State Archives of Parma. Verdi did not want them in the public domain. They consist of over 600 sheets of sketches and sketches of works, for the most part unpublished.
“We have always and only respected the will of the Maestro,” says Angiolo, “who wished that those documents were not disclosed and we do not intend to give up. It is not a game over”.
