Serra moresca: A Neomoorish Greenhouse in Villa Torlonia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Italian, Papal States
- Site type
- Domestic
On this page7 sections
History
Design and construction
Serra moresca is a nineteenth-century greenhouse in Italy, located within Villa Torlonia in Rome. Designed in the Neomoorish style, a revival style based particularly on the architecture of Moorish Spain, its construction began in 1840 as part of Giuseppe Jappelli’s plan for the villa.
Jappelli, an Italian architect and garden designer, prepared an initial greenhouse project in 1839. The wider plan also included a grotto, an armory, a nymphaeum, a decorative structure inspired by ancient sanctuaries of nymphs, and an Indian pagoda. A sketch from that year survives, while a design for the pagoda is preserved in the archive of the Civic Library of Padua.
Jappelli ultimately chose the Neomoorish style for the greenhouse, possibly under the influence of James Cavanah Murphy’s illustrated book The Arabian Antiquities of Spain, published in London in 1816. Murphy was an Irish architect and architectural writer whose work included studies of Spanish Islamic architecture. A copy of the book is held in the Vatican Library, and Jappelli had recommended it to Giacomo Caneva, the Italian painter and photographer who collaborated with him on the greenhouse.
The stylistic choice also reflected Jappelli’s intention to revive at Villa Torlonia a motif associated with the period of Ludovico Ariosto, the Italian Renaissance poet best known for Orlando furioso. A similar revival had been pursued in the gardens of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Austrian-ruled kingdom in northern Italy that existed from 1815 to 1866. Two colored greenhouse designs by Jappelli, dated 1842, survive from an original series of six and include annotations for Caneva.
Alterations and restoration
In 1905, the rear of Serra moresca was enlarged to create a gardener’s residence. The addition was later used by workers assigned to the nearby poultry house. A period photograph shows that the building remained intact during the 1930s, although the fragility of elements such as the glass subsequently brought rapid deterioration.
Restoration work took place during the new millennium. Serra moresca reopened to the public in December 2021 as part of the Museums of Villa Torlonia, returning the greenhouse to the group of historic buildings associated with the villa.
Remains
Exterior elevation and entrance
The principal elevation is divided into seven sections by columns made of Albano stone and decorated with Moorish graffiti. Polychrome windows articulate the sections, and hexagonal cast-iron columns rise above them. The entrance occupies the shorter side of the building and was flanked by two marble lions.
The doorway has a Moorish arch and a pediment with a blue background, raised golden stars, and Kufic-Timurid characters. This form of decoration combines the angular Kufic tradition of Arabic calligraphy with forms associated with the Timurid artistic world. The inscription translates as “Prince D. Alessandro and the most noble Teresa Torlonia,” referring to Alessandro and Teresa Torlonia, members of the prominent Roman aristocratic and banking family.
Interior planting space
Inside, a planter filled with soil for the plants formed the central growing space. Approximately twelve wooden columns rose from it, supporting the plants or the drapes and curtains used for festive decoration. The ceiling was wooden and painted, with a covering of transparent glass above it.
Painted panel and water feature
Jappelli installed a movable panel with Moorish paintings on the northern side of the greenhouse. By 1905, travertine basins were described there, with water flowing into them from an amphora held by a female figure. The basin remains at the same site, while the female figure was moved and reused as an ornament for a fountain on the northern elevation of the Casino dei Principi. In this setting, “casino” refers to a small villa or pavilion rather than a gambling establishment.
