What was here before this magnificent villa? Let's go back in time to 1436, when the Guarienti family purchased from Gerolamo Nicolò Contarini a house with a dovecote tower, stables, a well, and an oven, all enclosed by a wall, right here in this spot. Part of this ancient structure still survives to this day.
Two hundred years later, in 1629, the property passed to the Maffei family, one of the most powerful families in Verona, through a double marriage between the Maffei brothers and the Guarienti sisters. In 1653, Carlo Maffei enhanced the property with a private chapel, but it was Count Canonico Antonio Maffei who entrusted architect Vincenzo Pellesina with the villa's expansion. Between 1689 and 1693, Pellesina designed the elegant central building in Palladian style, with Baroque touches, which we now know as Villa Sigurtà.
The villa experienced a period of splendour under Scipione Maffei, a famous intellectual who spoke of it in his work Verona Illustrata. The ancient garden became a place of great beauty and charm.
In 1836, the villa passed to the Nuvoloni family and hosted kings and emperors. It was sold to the Paulon family in 1929, and in 1941 it was purchased by Count Carlo Sigurtà, who returned it to its former splendour, together with his wife Sandra. Since 1999, after his passing, the villa has been in the hands of the Ruiz-Berdejo Sigurtà family.
In this place, every corner, every room, every tree in the garden has a story to tell. In the past, the villa and its park were a single, grand monumental complex. Today, however, they are two separate treasures: the historic Villa Veneta, which is part of the Association of Historical Italian Residences and is owned by José Carlos Ruiz-Berdejo Sigurtà, the grandson of Count Carlo, and the Sigurtà Garden Park, which belongs to Carlo's other grandchildren, Giuseppe and Magda Inga Sigurtà, who tend to it with great passion.
It was Count Carlo, in 1941, who bought this house and restored its splendour, together with his beloved Sandra, whose elegant touch and creative talent have brought life and magic to every room.
After them, the grandson José Carlos Ruiz-Berdejo Sigurtà, along with his wife Clelia and their son José Antonio and his family, continue to care for this enchanted place, further enriching a fascinating story that has already lasted for over five centuries.
Let's go and find out.