The elegant villa

The villa, located in front of the side entrance of the Casino in Corso degli Inglesi, was built according to the dictates of the neo-Gothic style, underlined in particular by the pronounced ribs that characterise the façade, by the end of the 19th century, so much so that it was already mentioned in the topographical map of the city drawn up by Alessandro Cantù in 1882.

Throughout its long history it was the property and residence of the German Baron Adolf Thiem, who lived in this building before having Pio Soli build the largest Villa Virginia in the upper area of the Berigo hill.

Baron Adolfo Thiem was one of the first great European art collectors, described by the guides of the time as a very affable personage, owner, among other things, of an exceptional collection of paintings of the Flemish and Venetian school. The works were exhibited in the central hall of his villa in Corso Inglesi, illuminated « by the crystal-covered eye in the middle of the vault ».

The villa once bordered the large garden in which the Ameglio villas were located and a small hotel called Hotel de la Reine, which had hosted illustrious personalities such as the Princess of Salm and Dick, the Princess of Polignac, grandmother of the future Prince of Monaco Rainier III, and the Genoese Marquis Federico Spinola.

Opposite the villa, on the other side of the street, which was already called Corso degli Inglesi in 1903, were the Maria Vittoria gardens, which were eliminated for the construction of the Casino in 1905.

Like many other period villas in the city, the structure lost its historical value and was used for various purposes.

For a certain pre-war period, it was the site of an ice cream restaurant « da Emiia Printemps », and around the 1950s, also a hotel, the « Piccolo Hotel ».

The building has hosted numerous art exhibitions in the past, perhaps in memory of its first owner.

Recently, in addition to a restaurant, it has hosted several commercial activities.

(text freely reworked based on Andrea Gandolfo's "Guide to Artistic Heritage"; images from private archives)