Villa Bartholoni - Geneva, Switzerland
Posted by: tmob
N 46° 13.248 E 006° 09.134
32T E 280373 N 5122522
Villa Bartholoni, is a neoclassical building, built in 1829/30 and nowadays house the Geneva Museum of the History of Science.
Waymark Code: WMD4AP
Location: Genève, Switzerland
Date Posted: 11/16/2011
Views: 18
«The Villa was built in 1829/30 for two brothers, Jean-François and
Constant Bartholoni, on a large estate acquired from the Melly family in 1825. Its Italianate architecture and English style gardens, are a good illustration of suburban residences under the Restoration. Yet for Geneva it appears to be unique. The Bartholoni brothers, both established bankers in Paris, intended it to be a residence for holding receptions during their brief visits to Geneva.
There they would entertain a glittering and cosmopolitan society, well-versed in the arts and music. The Villa was therefore designed with this in mind. It is indeed an aristocratic jewel of a « pavillon de plaisance », sacrificing to pomp and ceremony, domestic charm and family pleasures so dear to the bourgeois heart.
The ground floor was reserved for the sumptuously – decorated reception rooms: drawingrooms and parlours, dining-room, billiard-room, readingroom and even a bathroom which, like Mme Récamier’s in Paris, could be converted into a kind of boudoir. On the first floor were the owners’ and friends’ apartments, and in the attic the servants’ quarters and other guestrooms.
Since 1964, Villa Bartholoni houses the Museum of the History of Science. Between 1984 and 1990, it was completely renovated by the architects Thierry Sauvin and René Born, thus restoring it to its original splendour.»
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The Museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm, from Thursday to Monday. The Museum is closed December 25, and January 1st.