Villa Ada is the 16th century residence of the De’Nobili family. It is set in a beautiful park, which is still used occasionally for events such as the archery competition.
It is still possible to see how elegant it must have been with its lovely covered walkway down to the village. I can imagine what a cool, shady place it must have been on a hot summer day.
You can see Villa Ada in this 1905 photo of La Villa…it is just below the row of cypress trees on the hill.
The photo below was taken in 1908.
It was still looking good 1937.
Villa Ada has belonged to the Comune since 1975. Work has been done to preserve it, but it needs new owners to love and care for it…any takers?
It looks OK from a distance, but as you get closer you can see that it is beginning to deteriorate.
The marble sculpture, The Nymph of the Spa and another statue were in the entrance, but the nymph now resides in the Comune building. I don’t know what happened to the other one.
The grounds must have been very beautiful. It wouldn’t take too much to restore the gardens.
Bagni di Lucca is full of places like this. Is there anyone out there with lots of money?
Bella Bagni di Lucca 
I wish I had the money to restore Villa Ada and also Villa Fiori! Both places are so beautifull!
Wouldn’t it be great to see them renovated and occupied?
You would make the perfect superintendent for such a project Deb. You have so much skill not to mention love for the place itself. Wouldn’t be a wonderful, exasperating experience!
Yes, it would be both wonderful and exasperating.
It’s a pity! When I came to Italy in the beginning of ’80 they used to give big feasts in there for “Carnevale” and other meetings. It’s so marvellous Villa…….but everything that goes in comune’s hands has this end….
I love to see the grounds come alive for the archery competition every year. I would like to see the residents of Bagni Di Lucca get interested in what they have and do something. Some work has clearly been done in the garden as it was very run down a few years ago.
It is a beautiful place and I also wish that someone will buy it and restore it to its former glory. Same for Villa Fiori, which is magnificent and rapidly deteriorating.
The second nymph is nowadays at the centre of the fountain of the Contessa Cassalini Park in La Villa. It has been restored and looks great there.
I didn’t recognise the second statue in her new position. She does look good there.
Our Creativity and Health Centre
What a good idea. EU funding perhaps?
so beautiful, so beautiful… Maybe waiting for me 🙂 How I wished. Thanks and Love, nia
We would love to have you in Bagni di Lucca.
A beautiful building. I do hope a use is found for it soon. As a restored private residence or hotel it would be superb; if the commune had the funds, perhaps a centre for the local community. Just out of interest, what happened to the original owners, the De Nobili’s?
I couldn’t find any information on the original owners unfortunately.
I also hope a good use is found for Villa Ada.
It was once rumoured that film actress Gina Lollobrigida was going to buy Villa Ada in the 1960’s but some of the conservative inhabitants of Bagni were against the purchase since it might have “lowered the tone” – unbelievable but true, apparrently.
Good grief!
Although it is deteriorating it is still quite grand. It would be wonderful to find someone to lovingly restore this lovely villa
It is a great looking building, surely there must be someone out there who could do something with it.
Excellent post Debra. I love Villa Ada. When I am rich…….Caroline
I hope you are rich soon.
La pro Loco di Bagni di Lucca con i suoi volontari è al lavoro per poter recuperare almeno il parco e presto anche il salone del piano terra e si pensa a primavera di poter finire
The park has been well looked after and it is good to hear more work is being done at Villa Ada.
Is it finished by now?
This is one of the beautiful buildings and needs someones money and expertise to bring it back to life…as does Villa Fiori. They are both too beautiful to be ignored and I do hope they find a new owner soon.
There must be somebody out there who would like to put these buildings to use.
The problem lies with the price that the commune wants for these places as it still costs a lot to do them up. They should consider free or cheap lease of these places as long as they restore them correctly for a period of time. This us done in many cities around the world. It keeps the buildings in good shape, they get used and ownership stays with the commune.
I agree. It would be better to accept a lower amount of money and have the costs of maintenance taken away.
How much are the commune asking for villa Ada?
I don’t know. I heard some time ago the comune wanted €1million, but I don’t know if that was just a rumour. If the right person came along with good plans for the future I hope they would listen.
This place is beautiful….so many abandoned places like this in Italy that I just want to buy and redo! How did you get in??? I ALWAYS want to go into these types of places!
I couldn’t get in, I just put my camera to the glass. In one of the comments I see that a group of volunteers are in the process of cleaning Villa Ada, which is great.
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