In via Manin a dip in the nineteenth century: courtyard on the Siletto, stuccoes, furnishings. The cultural operation of the Baccini family and Davide Spotti
TREVISO. The entrance hall is already a dip in time: the cast iron of the door grates, the four neoclassical statues that mark the entrance: Astronomy, Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Others in the hall of the stairs: Music and Poetry. Icons more than muses.
Decorations, tables, chairs: everything is original and carefully restored to its former glory. On the other hand, overlooking the Siletto with a courtyard that turns into a large plateau, and the surprise of a large terrace which is backed by a series of pointed arches and a rose window of a church that no longer exists today ( and you can see frescoes, if you look closely), which reached via Castelmenardo. And we are on the shore of what is still one of the Cagnani citizens.
Thus, the nineteenth century has never been seen in Treviso. We are in via Manin, in Palazzo Spineda Manin, where Countess Sofia Spineda had retired in the mid-19th century, to create an oasis of harmony, style and beauty in the center. In the name of art and the Risorgimento.
The noble hall, on the first floor, houses four wall frescoes by Ippolito Caffi. His Grand Tour, from Rome to Athens, from Istanbul to Egypt, extraordinary testimony of a training journey of the Belluno artist, who combined art and life and love of the homeland up to the sacrifice in the battle of Lissa. A prophet of color and of united Italy. The curtains on the windows, then, perfectly match the one with which he decorated the Roman room of the Pedrocchi café. And in a moment you are on the large terrace overlooking the courtyard. You go back down, and a fifteenth-century fireplace appears from the adjacent room.
Since this summer, the ground floor of Palazzo Spineda Manin has become a café, named after Caffi. From 4 October it will open Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 to 15, Thursday and Friday 9 – 15 and 18-23, Saturday and Sunday 9 – 19 (green pass required indoors, reservations recommended in the evening, closed on Mondays). Magnificent context, the result of a 4-year restoration, much more than philological. So respectful as to leave original trellises and plasters, even the few centimeters of friezes and decorations lost in these two centuries. The operation was commissioned by Davide Spotti and Elisa Baccini, and Angela, daughter of the latter: they furnished it with their taste, and passions, not only artistic. In the glasses, in wine from the Duca di Dolle winery, in Rolle, which is part of the Baccini holding: also a Rosé, pinot noir in purity.
Wall units, paintings, canvases and drawings. De Pisis, Balla, Nesi among others; lagoons, but also works from Asia and Africa, testimonies of travels, passions and cultures. Toni Benetton’s penguins embellish the fireplace. «We wanted to start with discretion, relying on word of mouth», say Davide and Elisa, «The results surprised us in a short time. We would like to continue, the idea is to make this building a treasure chest of beauty for the city, with events, exhibitions, meetings, to share beauty, harmony, memories ».
The building had ended up in the Province: it had housed the offices of the Magistrate’s Court, then the ecology office of the same Province. In 2012, the Baccini family bought it, to bring you the offices of the group, a pioneer in Italy of photovoltaics and renewable energy. On the top floor of the building, where a stucco room takes your breath away. There is also a zither. The palace lives on music – there is a heritage of ancient scores – and will live on, thanks to the agreement between the Steffani Conservatory Municipality, Manzato and the Baccini family. A virtuoso circuit of notes and concerts was born between via Manin and piazza Pola.
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