Some undergrowth has been removed from what is left of the garden around Villa Fiori in Ponte a Serraglio. A sculpture of a diving girl has been uncovered.
She is one of a group of sculptures that stood around a shallow pool, now empty and abandoned. The others have disappeared and she has lost an arm.
The neglect of this building is a crying shame…but you could do something about this. Villa Fiori is for sale. For less than €1 million it could be yours.
Spread the word, tell everyone you know. There must be someone out there with vision (and money). Bagni di Lucca is a wonderful collection of villages, famous for its spas. The area is gorgeous, with mountains, a beautiful river and the first casino in Europe, as well as the spas that need a little love and attention. While other towns and villages in Italy struggle to find a focus for regrowth, Bagni di Lucca is a treasure trove.
It just needs someone with ideas and money to bring life to some of the magnificent old buildings. We love Bagni di Lucca just the way it is, and we don’t want it to change too much, but it would be great to see more opportunities for young locals, who shouldn’t have to leave their beloved home town to find work.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 
The building is beautiful, even in its current state of disrepair. Back in the 19th Century it belonged to Baron Fiori, hence its name. In the early 20th Century, it was purchased by Jean Varraud, a French industrialist and great benefactor of the town, who created the company which used to operate the thermal baths. It had other owners, as well, and since 1979 it belongs to Council, that also owns quite a few other historical buildings in the area. The villa desperately needs new owners who will restore it and who will bring it back to life. It could have many profitable uses. It only needs a new owner, who would love old buildings and will have sufficient funds to undertake the restoration.
I hope a new owner is found soon. The building and grounds are lovely. It would be great to see everything restored.
Wouldn’t it be lovely Debra, to turn it into a permanent centre/school for the arts?
It would make a great art school, it would certainly be an inspiring place.
It is such a lovely building in a beautiful location. It would be wonderful for someone to buy it and turn it into something like a language school
…another good suggestion. I hope something good happens with it.
What a thrill it would be to work on uncovering and restoring the gardens. The building must have an interesting history – as would the landscape around it. I do hope it finds a saviour.
There must be someone out there with vision. It is in a beautiful setting. Something that brings people to the area would be excellent.
I rescued part of the gardens from brambles last summer, which took a large tractor 6 hours of slashing. I found a nice pond with a broken up statue amoungst the vegetation. The gardens had many paths running through it as per old photos I found on the internet. I hope someone will restore the diving lady soon. I would love to see that statue back in it former glory. It’s very detailed when you look at it closely. Living next door to it in the villas old stables make me feel part of its history.
What you did was great. At least the grounds are getting some attention.
I’m just going to check last nights lotto numbers……
We need some crowdfunding! What do you say?
Gather all your friends together. It may be possible to get EU funding to do it up.
Hi, crowd/group funding sounds a great idea. I am sure that lots of people who visit the area regularly would love to get involved.
That could work, but there would need to be someone with the will to carry out the project.
It’s a truly beautiful place!
It is lovely, I hope it finds a new owner.
I beautiful building … and one that bloggers should unite to buy as a retreat center.
It would need a strong vision and a plan to make it work. I would like to see a high quality hotel and to get the spas operating.
Let’s hope a good venture takes over the spot.
I’m very proud to say that my Grandparents were both born in Bagni di Lucca.
Many Many people from that area were true artists and it truly is a beautiful area that has not been to affected by major growth. Hopefully this part of history will be restored.
I hope you find someone to purchase the building and put it to good use….. G. Miori
I hope so too. It is criminal to see it fall into disrepair.
If the Commune could guarantee a tax free period on the building, it could have a chance.
Indeed beautiful – and tons of potentials as described by most comments
Question is WHY did no one with funds already buy it. What are the issues, is there significant interior damage? are there restrictions imposed by the historical council? there must be something not interesting for those that have funds to spare. A collettiva of friends is a good idea to raise funds – and a good architect and local person that knows how to handle the very slow and difficult to deal with italian admin
The building has a lot of damage. The roof needs repair. Who knows what the interior is like. It is a pity to watch it fall apart.