Villa
Murri - Porto
Sant'Elpidio
Villa
Murri was planned by Ireneo Aleandri in the first decades of 1800. It was Sinibaldi
family holiday home. It was a rich family from Sant'Elpidio a Mare and its
property amounted to 509 ha of land in 1558. A lot of members of the
family have survived history. There were literary men among them and also
religious people: five bishops, five Malta Knight and even Saint Rosalia,
protector of Palermo.
The
villa was then sold to Count Alessandro
Maggiori (1880) and then was owned by Cornelia Sonetti, widow of
Tullio Murri in 1936. The latter was Augusto
Murri’s son. Augusto was a famous doctor of the positivist school
that was born in Fermo in 1841. After graduating in Camerino, he became
one of the most famous members of the clinic studies renovation. The
movement was at its outmost in those years and produced effects in
Histology, Microbiology, experimental physiotherapy. He taught at and then
directed Bologna University. He earned himself the title of "supreme
among the medical clinicians" thanks to his didactic method. He
published several research papers and studies that are still recognized as
fundamentals of medicine and pathology. Giovanni Pascoli wrote of him “he
reached the high gable ends of Arts and Science”.
Augusto
Murri's family became popular among common people probably not much for
the fame and scientific contribution but for a crime news that “interested
the entire Italian public opinion and became the most talked about
judicial issue of Giolittian Italy".
On 2nd September 1902 the count Franceso Bonmartini, that had
got married to Linda Murri the daughter of the famous doctor, was killed
in Bologna by her brother Tullio. Tullio
Murri was pardoned by the king Vittorio Emanuele together with his sister
Linda that had commissioned the murder. He then got married to Cornelia
Sonetti, the last private owner of the Villa that was then purchased by
Porto Sant’Elpidio Council in 1953.
The
place was restored and was occupied by several activities. Nowadays the
Villa hosts the offices of the Social Services, Culture and Public
Education, Public Library, "City and Culture project" Foundation
and Informagiovani.
The
park is not large. It is famous though for several plants and some
examples of Holm Oax (Quercus ilex)
and Laurel (Lurus nobilis) that
grow spontaneous in the Elpidio area. It is interesting to note the
presence of some examples of Canary Palm Trees (Phoenix
canariensis) and a large bush of Cicas (Cycas
revoluta), from South Japan that was brought to Italy in the
Eighteenth century.
In
summer time Villa Murri is the background for Cinema in the open air and
for some shows of the International Festival of Youth Theatre.
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