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MADAME MONSIEUR – Istituto Svizzero di Roma
1998
The Villa Maraini
In 1947, Donna Carolina Maraini-Sommaruga donated the manor, which had been built by her late husband from 1903 till 1905, to the Swiss Confederation. In accordance with the wishes of the donor, the villa was declared domicile of the Swiss Institute in Rome and has from that time offered young Swiss academics and persons engaged in the cultural sector the possibility of prolonged study stays in the historic cultural metropolis.
In allusion to Rome's rich architectural history, the architect had covered the Villa Maraini's four façades with a false front of various interwoven and intertwining arrangement and ornamentation. He wanted to stress the various components and floors by using different kinds of materials and architectural forms of grandeur, such as varnished bricks, free-standing marble pillars, intricate window roofings etc.
The interior of the upper-class villa had to meet the requirements of both homelike comfort and distinct functionality (which also called for technologically progressive infrastructure) without losing the crucial aspect of social representation.
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