This is one of the most bizarre monuments of baroque decadence in Europe, known around the world as the "Villa of Monsters." When Goethe came this way, he was appalled by its "bad taste and folly." It was designed in 1705 by Tommaso Maria Napoli for Francesco Gravina, prince of Palagonia. But it was hideously decorated by the prince's eccentric grandson, the hunchbacked Ferdinando Gravina Alliata.
Francesco ordered that a series of tufa statues be inserted along the top of the wall in front of the facade. Of the original 200 statues, some 60 remain. Goethe described this parade of hideous figures as "beggars of both sexes, men and women of Spain, Moors, Turks, hunchbacks, deformed persons of every kind, dwarfs, musicians, Pulcinellas." He also commented on the depictions of animals: "deformed monkeys, many dragons and snakes, every kind of paw attached to every kind of body, double heads and exchanged heads."
In addition to his hunched back, Ferdinando was said to have a deformed mind. His wife was known to have had many lovers, so he ordered artisans to make frightening caricatures of these men to embarrass his wife and her male harem. He also created an eccentric interior, with spikes hidden under inviting velvet seats and sets of lovely Chinese porcelain glued together in a sticky mess. Mirrors were often built into the walls to distort the figures of visitors -- thus, the hunchback got his revenge on those who stood tall and straight. A Hall of Mirrors remains, although in disrepair.
Unfortunately, most of the decorations that so infuriated Goethe are gone today, and the entire villa, while richly evoking the glories of its baroque past, is in sad need of a major restoration.
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