In Rome, an entire Liberty-style neighborhood known as Quartiere Coppedè was created between 1921 and 1926 by the Florentine architect Gino Coppedè, after whom it is named.
Centrally located between Via Tagliamento, Via Clitunno, Via Serchio, Via Ombrone and Via Arno (all Italian rivers), with the center in Piazza Mincio, north-east of the Borghese Gardens, the district is a unique example of one man’s extravagant, even eccentric interpretation of the dominant approach of the time.
Mixing architectural elements from medieval, Renaissance and other eras, Coppedè transformed some 31,000 square meters into an enchanted residential realm of palaces, castles and fairy tale houses with gold exterior mosaics, Rapunzel-esque towers, painted ceilings and decorative sculptures accessed via a fantastic entry arch on via Tagliamento.
Some 40 villas – the most famous of which is the Palazzo del Ragno (Spider Palace), named after the mosaic design on the portal – were erected bearing pinnacles, elaborate wrought-iron balconies and many other forms of decoration, from false coats of arms to grisly medusas and tragic masks. Every single piece of visible marble or brick was sculpted into some living shape and, in the streets, road lamps were replaced with chandeliers, and piazzas were endowed with wildly embellished fountains, like the Fontana delle Rane (Fountain of the Frogs) in piazza Mincio, the district’s main reference point.
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