Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola, is a residential building in the frazione of

San Michele di Pagana San Michele di Pagana is a ''frazione'' (hamlet) of the ''comune'' of Rapallo, Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy. Facing the Gulf of Tigullio, it is located some 2 km from the center of the municipality and from the nearby ' ...

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italy, Italian region of Liguria. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and ...

, within the

Metropolitan City of Genoa The Metropolitan City of Genoa () is a metropolitan city in the region of Liguria in northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It replaced the province of Genoa in 2015. It has 67 municipalities (''comuni) in'' an area of and a total p ...

in Italy. It is located on Punta Pagana, close to the boundary with

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for both tourism and ...

, and it includes a private park containing the 17th-century

Castello di Punta Pagana The Castello di Punta Pagana is a 17th-century fort located on the homonymous Punta Pagana, within the grounds of Villa Pagana in Rapallo, within the Metropolitan City of Genoa in Italy. It is located west of San Michele di Pagana, close to the ...

. The house has been one of the magisterial residences of the Grand Master of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

since 1959, and it is therefore locally known as the Villa dei Cavalieri di Malta or simply Villa Malta. These names are incorrect since they should be exclusively associated with the

Villa del Priorato di Malta Villa del Priorato di Malta or Magistral Villa, located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, is one of the two institutional seats of the government of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Along with Magistral Palace, the estate is granted extraterr ...

in Rome.

History

San Michele di Pagana-villa ordine di malta-complesso2

The construction of the villa was commissioned by the Orero family, who probably originated from the homonymous locality in the , in the early 17th century, after they purchased the land from the Giudice family from Rapallo. Historical documents show that the first owner was Francesco Orero. After his death in 1609, ownership of the building passed to his sons Francesco and Bernardo, who managed and shared the entire patrimony until 1641 and extended the building to its present state. The boundaries of the property have remained almost unchanged since then. The villa was later managed by Francesco Orero, and it passed to his sons Gerolamo and Dionisio following his death in 1644. The latter's financial problems resulted in the property being sold to the Marquis Pier Francesco Cattaneo. After he died in 1708, it passed to his brother Paolo Maria Cattaneo. San Michele di Pagana-villa ordine di malta-parco

San Michele di Pagana-villa ordine di malta-parco

Through family ties, the building eventually passed from the

Cattaneo Cattaneo ( is an Italian surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 81.2% of all known bearers of the surname ''Cattaneo'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:1,232), 9.0% of Argentina (1:7,742), 2.8% of Switzerland (1:4,802), 1.9% of the Unit ...

to the

Spinola family The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, is a Genoese noble family which played a leading role in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Notable members Guido Spinola was ...

. The latter embellished both the villa and the surrounding park, including decorating the interior with fine furnishings and works of art, and planting trees including

Cedar of Lebanon ''Cedrus libani'', commonly known as cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon cedar, or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of large evergreen conifer in the genus ''Cedrus'', which belongs to the pine family and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Medite ...

on the grounds. During this period, the building hosted a number of prominent personalities, including

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

and his brother Giovanni in 1816, and Queen

Margherita of Savoy Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was List of Italian royal consorts, Queen of Italy by marriage to her first cousin King Umberto I of Italy. She was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand ...

and her brother Thomas of Savoy in the early 20th century. In a will of 1955, Admiral Franco Spinola made a will leaving the entire property of the villa, including the castle in its grounds, to the

by 1959.

Sources

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External links

*{{commons category inline, Villa Pagana (Rapallo) Pagana Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Genoa Houses completed in the 17th century Spinola family Buildings and structures of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Rapallo