Embellishments commissioned by Toeplitz

The villa was substantially restructured by Jósef Leopold Toeplitz in the years immediately after the First World War^[12] when he bought the existing building from the German industrialist Eugene Hannesen.^[11] The works, inspired by his second wife, continued until 1926, under the guidance of the prominent Roman architect Armando Brasini, known for his eclectic and visionary style. Once the renovation work was completed, the building became Toeplitz's favourite residence, and also a meeting place where famous names from the Italian and international economic, industrial and artistic scene stayed.^[13]

Call to Palladium

The upper floor is characterized by a loggia to give light to the panoramic room with arches closed by windows interrupted by a niche. A large panoramic terrace is located on the west side of the villa.^[13] It is furnished with two large flowerbeds under which there is an exedra fountain with a semi-dome cap decorated with rays to simulate a shell. On the lower side of this facade of the building, there are thermal windows that recall those used by Andrea Palladio in Villa Foscari, called the "Malcontenta". Other peculiar characteristics of the manor house are the use of the serliana and, above the windows, lunettes and gables, generally painted or decorated. The covers of the loggia above the main entrance and that of the tower are wooden coffered ceilings.^[12] Other interesting elements of the Italian floral or Art Nouveau style are, for example, the wrought iron with their decorations and the dormer windows on the upper floor that go over the cornice of the building interrupting the eaves.

Internal decor

The interiors of the villa are characterized by marble staircases, parquet floors in the rooms, ceramic in the service rooms, painted wooden doors and decorated coffered ceilings.^[12] The reception room on the ground floor is uninterrupted and is still furnished as it was in the days of the Toeplitz family, with inlaid chessboard tables, a bar corner in solid wood and antique armchairs.^[11]

Dome and observatory

In the project for the extension of the building immediately after the purchase by Toeplitz, an important step in the work of the architect Brasini was the design and planning of a tower crowned by an arched loggia, four on each side. The arches support the roof structure with an openable metal dome used as a scientific observatory. The mirror was made with the collaboration and supervision of Professor Emilio Bianchi, director of the Brera Astronomical Observatory and creator of the Planetarium of Milan.^[13] During the Second World War, the presence of the high tower led the Germans to suspect that it was used for secret communications by Mrs. Toeplitz.

Edvige Mrozowska had to defend herself from the suspicion of being a spy in the service of the allies. At the end of the Second World War, the villa was sold by Mrs Toeplitz and her son to a private company, the "Colchide Prima", belonging to the Mocchetti brothers of Legnano. In 1972 the complex became the property of the Municipality, which used it for many years as a school.^[11]

Styles

The structure of the Gardens defines a division between two specific gardening styles: an "intricate" and "elegant" structure that characterize a typical Giardino all'Italiana contrasting with a more natural environment composing a more moderate English Garden.^[11]

The southern part of the garden, all'Italiana, hosts refined constructions, both vegetal and non, made by gardening architects coming from the whole province. The boxwood tree was used to create topiary bushes and balloons, along with the ivy trees, while cypress trees were used to create two imponent castles. Elaeagnus bushes form an intricate system of mazes.^[8]

Deeper in the gardens, right below the belvedere, several fountains take place. Within these architectural elements, water games and water shows used to take place in the Gardens' fountains. Due to the dryness of the source that used to aliment the fountains, the water games are no longer performed.^[8]

The high number of fountains, waterfalls, topiaries and "little canals inspired by the Kashmir Gardens oriental tradition" ^[8] present in the Garden, they identify it as "eclectic".^[8]

A Chestnut wood is located in the north-east part of the Gardens, just behind the villa. It was planted when the Toepliz family moved to the Villa and its heavy growth is due to the favourable climate of the Varese province, where the chestnut is one of the most widespread plants. The Chestnut wood is part of a wide economic circle in the Varese zone, the so-called "Chestnut Economy". Chestnut trees are an important resource since they are raw materials for different fields of the economy of the province. " Chestnut wood is used to make furniture, barrels, roof beams, posts fencing or stakes, as firewood and in the production of charcoal " and like so to aliment the local economy. The chestnut wood of Villa Toeplitz has also the function of "beekeeping": because "bees are very attracted by male chestnut flowers and the subsequent honey production is large".^[11]

The chestnut wood, along with a series of artificial lakes and wide alleys, composes the second part of the garden, the English landscape garden.^[11]

Fountains, nymphaeum and chapel

The monumental fountain of the Villa is divided into three levels. The whole structure of the fountain is located on the side of a small hill. It is considered one of the most relevant elements of the gardens.^[16]

The lowest level is located at the centre of the main boulevard that goes from the entrance to the actual Villa. On its left side, there is an extended field in an elliptical form that is the base of a complex and elaborated path walk.^[11] The middle level is divided into other three parts accurate and symmetric, delimitated by hedges of shrubs and a complex mesh of canals, tanks and water games.^[16] On the third level there are several fountains and terraces that lead to a nymphaeum, below the belvedere, decorated with granite columns and internal tanks in majolica. The levels of the fountain are connected by a water chain from the 15th century, composed by tanks in pink porphyry.^[16]

On the top of the hill, behind the belvedere, the Toeplitz family built a chapel. The project was entrusted to the architect Goraska, that came appositely from Poland. The interiors of the chapel are decorated by frescos that were painted by Jan Henryk Rosen di Leopoli, who also did the one in the cemetery in St. Ambrogio.^[16]

Panoramic bridge, orchard and cemetery

A panoramic bridge, provided with two arches and a decorative oculus, runs along the old Toeplitz's property through "via dei Mulini Grassi". Giuseppe Toeplitz asked for permission to build it with the aim to facilitate the connection between the Gardens, that he bought years later to build the orchard and the other side of the street. The company that had the task to build the bridge, requested to have with a height of at least 5 metres, is named Zanzi. The construction was concluded in 1924.^[16]

In the orchard there were mainly cultivated apple, pear and peach trees with the espalier technique that helps the tree to have a flat structure. Both Giuseppe Toeplitz and Edvige Mrozowska had a strong passion for floriculture and fruit farming, but in particular the woman, that used to ask suggestions to expert agronomists, and that was always flanked by the Tuscan gardener Quinto Brilli.^[16]

The particular technique used in the cultivation of apples and pears made it possible for Edvige to take part in several competitions, often winning and gaining different honours. On each fruit and vegetable's peel, she used to put a monogram of a letter (T) to sign her creations. Giuseppe Toeplitz, according to all the workers' memories, was really dedicated to the care of the plants in the greenhouse. Every night, he used to check his plants, even if it was late.^[16]

The two spouses are both resting in peace in St.Ambrogio cemetery in one chapel with the woman's parents. The disposition of the headstones respects the Slavic tradition and is really simple and minimal, while the outside reflects the union of several styles. The couple has been really relevant for the history and development of the city of Varese, even though there are not really considered or remembered in the present society, probably for the lack of heirs and so the lack of care for their chapel.^[16]

Bird snare and tower

Villa Toeplitz's Gardens host a series of bird snares that were once dedicated to bird hunting, an activity that was long practised by Mr Toeplitz. The bird snare is the first element of the hunting set and, in the case of Villa Toeplitz, it is located by the main body of the Villa. The first bird snares were made in the 14th century by some friars and then they started to be used in Lombardy and other regions in the north of Italy.^[12] It is made by two parts: the first component is a building made mainly by stones that, like the one in Toeplitz's Gardens, is the tower, a building developed on three levels, all with different functions. The lowest one was made for meetings, the middle one was where the birds that were used to beckon other birds rested and the top part was used by the hunters to look for birds. The second component is an arboreal structure positioned in a circle called colonnade with a big red oak at the centre.^[12]

Flora

The current botanical collections of Villa Toeplitz reflect the historic influence and international travels of Edvige Toeplitz during the garden's original creation.^[8] These include:

• Alnus glutinosa
• Acer palmatum
• Acer pseudoplatanus
• Quercus ilex
• Catalpa
• Aucuba japonica
• Corylus avellana
• Diospyros kaki
• Elaeagnus pungens
• Sequoiadendron giganteum
• Abies nordmanniana
• Pinus strobus
• Cedrus libani

Fauna

The Chestnut Forest is home to a wide variety of wildlife: notably insects, amphibians, and small mammals, some of which are relatively rare.^[17] These species can all live virtually undisturbed since the forest is rarely visited by humans. In recent years, the populations of toads and frogs in the forest have grown, partly as a result of conservation efforts. Since the middle of April 2019, over 300,000 tadpoles and larvae have been moved from an area affected by restoration work in the park and they have been rehoused in a safer location in the central pool in front of the Villa. This work was carried out in collaboration with the Municipality of Varese and it made it possible to identify the presence of several common toads (Bufo bufo), in particular 25 females and 29 males, about thirty salamanders, some Lataste frogs (Rana latastei) and green frogs (Pelophylax esculentus) at the adult stage. These amphibians will populate the park's wooded areas, enriching their biodiversity and relevance. Public appreciation of these delicate amphibians is growing, particularly during this metamorphosis phase their life cycle.^[18] On 22 June 2019, for example, the LIPU, Legambiente, Gev, and Royal Rangers associations organised a meeting concerning the importance of preserving amphibians, in particular emphasising why they should not be disturbed or captured and showing the relevance of the park's biodiversity conservation project.^[19]