Villa Virginia
Encyclopedia
Villa Virginia is a historic site on Ice Glen Road in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
, one of the Berkshire Cottages
.
Villa Virginia is located at the foot of a hill behind which lies the Ice Glen. In the nineteenth century this was the site of an estate owned by John and Isabella Wyman Winthrop. Under their ownership, Isadora Duncan
danced on the property's lawn. The site was purchased by William H. Clarke who razed the earlier structures and commissioned architects Hiss and Weekes
to build a new estate on it in 1914. it is constructed in the style of a Tuscan villa
of the Renaissance
. It was also a working farm and had substantial outbuildings devoted to animals and farm machinery. The landscape was designed by Ferruccio Vitale. During the 1970s, like many Berkshire cottages it was considered a "white elephant" and, as a consequence, wound up uninhabited and severely run down. From 1979 to 1998 it was a home and private gallery for artist Kazys Varnelis who extensively restored the structure and grounds. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, one of the Berkshire Cottages
Berkshire Cottages
America's Gilded Age, the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, from 1865 to 1901 saw unprecedented economic and industrial prosperity. As a result of this prosperity, the nation's wealthiest families were able to construct monumental estates in Newport, Rhode Island, Bar Harbor, Maine and...
.
Villa Virginia is located at the foot of a hill behind which lies the Ice Glen. In the nineteenth century this was the site of an estate owned by John and Isabella Wyman Winthrop. Under their ownership, Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
danced on the property's lawn. The site was purchased by William H. Clarke who razed the earlier structures and commissioned architects Hiss and Weekes
Hiss and Weekes
Hiss and Weekes was a notable architectural firm in New York active from 1899 to 1933, constructing a number of landmarks of Beaux-Arts architecture....
to build a new estate on it in 1914. it is constructed in the style of a Tuscan villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. It was also a working farm and had substantial outbuildings devoted to animals and farm machinery. The landscape was designed by Ferruccio Vitale. During the 1970s, like many Berkshire cottages it was considered a "white elephant" and, as a consequence, wound up uninhabited and severely run down. From 1979 to 1998 it was a home and private gallery for artist Kazys Varnelis who extensively restored the structure and grounds. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.