Rediscovering Villa Favorita in Ercolano: Owners, Patrons, Designers, and Craftsmen in one of the Most Renowned Episodes of the Vesuvian Villas

Authors

  • Elena Manzo Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
  • Michele Cerro Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6093/2532-2699/12490

Keywords:

Ville vesuviane, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Errico Alvino, garden, rides

Abstract

Villa Favorita, a masterpiece of Neapolitan late Baroque and Neoclassicism, is one of the most famous and imposing aristocratic residences – known as ‘Ville Vesuviane’ – nestled along the fertile strip on the slopes of Vesuvius, between the Barra district and Torre del Greco. This essay aims to offer new interpretative perspectives on Villa Favorita, providing a more detailed view of its history, revisiting the main historiographical assumptions and, above all, highlighting how it was the result of a close collaboration between the client, prestigious architects, renowned artists and skilled workers, whose skills have contributed significantly to the excellent quality of the villa and its large green space.

Author Biographies

Elena Manzo, Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

Elena Manzo is an architect and holds the position of Full Professor of History of Architecture and Design at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, where she also presides over the Quality Assurance Unit. She holds a Ph.D. in History and Criticism of Architectural and Environmental Resources from the Polytechnic University of Turin. She coordinates national and international research programmes and has authored numerous scholarly articles, monographs, and contributions to edited volumes. Her research primarily investigates architecture and urban development in the modern and contemporary periods, with a particular focus on: the Kingdom of the Bourbons in Southern Italy (1734–1861); nineteenth- and twentieth-century Naples; Danish and Scandinavian architecture; nineteenth- and twentieth-century spa and thermal architecture; and the role of travel and the reception of classical antiquity in the modern period. She is the recipient of several national and international research fellowships, including a notable award from the Accademia di San Luca, and holds distinguished membership in the UNESCO University and Heritage Forum.

Michele Cerro, Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

Ph.D. candidate in History of Architecture at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.
He graduated in Architecture from the University of Naples Federico II in 2020, and in 2021 he earned a Master’s degree in Restauro e progetto per l’archeologia from the same university. He has been involved in national and international research groups, including, in 2023, the T.H.E.R.M.E. project, whose study was funded under the Valere Giovani University Grant Program of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.

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Published

2025-07-25

How to Cite

Manzo, E., & Cerro, M. (2025). Rediscovering Villa Favorita in Ercolano: Owners, Patrons, Designers, and Craftsmen in one of the Most Renowned Episodes of the Vesuvian Villas. Studi E Ricerche Di Storia dell’architettura, 1(17), 70–89. https://doi.org/10.6093/2532-2699/12490

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 17 (2025): Collaborations

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Elena Manzo, Michele Cerro

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.