Il grande parco della villa de Probizer

The garden and its history

The design and the imprint made on the natural setting of the large gardens of the villa de Probizer has its roots in the fascinating history of its birth through the will of a brillian Roveretan Giuseppe Antonio Bridi, a figure typical of the 18th Century intellectuals, who combined the sharp wit of a businessman with cultural interests, being himself a singer and member of Freemasonry where all important themes of enlightenment, philosophy, literatire and art were debated.

In this cultural climate of deep faith in knowledge, and to honor the friendship that bound him and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bridi conceived the garden around the villa as a path of discovery where to interpret philosophy and the concept that music and the homage to Mozart reprsented the key to their comprehension.

The 18th Century artifcats which are found throughout the garden represent symbolic steps or degrees of knowledge toward moral and spiritual elevation.

The Temple of Harmony, represents the apex of perfection of philisophical meditation and literary reflection. The contemplation of natural beauty is side by side with the aura of death which is evoked by the Cenotaph dedicated to Mozart, the monument dedicated to the parents, and the grotto, a humanistic chamber made of tufo stone which has a pyramid shaped skylight in the ceiling.

The grotto represents a link between the woodsy and wild part of the garden and the well-ordered and organized one, thus symbolizing the passage from darnkness to enlightenment.

The Rovina represents the ascent from earth to heaven, which is symbolized by the its steep stairway.

The temple of Harmony

The Temple, designed by Roverto architecht Pietro Andreis, was built upon an artifical knoll so as to give it the best possible visual and acoustic effects. It consists of a circular base in the Doric style, with 7 columns symbolizing each of the musical notes.  Each column also represents one of Bridi's favorite musicians: Haydn, Händel, Palestrina, Sacchini, Gluck, Jomelli and Mozart.

The fresco is the work of Crafonara (a painter born at the end of the 18th Century in Riva del Garda) and depicts Apollo, god of Music, celebrating Mozart as the greatest of the great.  
In fact, the Temple shows a clear Masonic influence, a trend which was very prevalent in the high society of Vienna and Roverto at that time.  
The Temple represents, without a doubt, the culmination of harmony through the integration of architecture and music, which were considered to be “perfect” sciences, and stands surrounded by the flowers and century-old trees of the gardens. 

The Cenotaph

In a secluded wooded area of the park you can find the mausoleum which Giuseppe Antonio Bridi built in memory of his friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Placed against a wall of tufa stone in a semi-circular grotto, there is a marble cinerary urn next to a tombstone which bears witness to the friendship of Bridi and Mozart. The engraving reads “Herrscher der Seele durch melodischen Denk Kraft” which means “Lord of the soul for the strength of his melody and thought”

The cenotaph, built by Giuseppe Antonio Bridi in his garden, is the oldest funerary monument to Mozart, representing a symbolic resting place, which the composer never had.

The Chapel

The chapel was built at the beginning of the 18th century, in Neo-Gothic style, and was frescoed by Roveretan painter Udine, who also worked on the Pitti Palace of Florence.

Bridi also had a crypt built for himself underneath the chapel but wast destined never to make use of it because he died of cholera.

The Ruins

In the northernmost part of the park, flanked by two-hundred year old cyprus trees, you will find a structure which was built to resemble the ruins of a small castle.

This is a typical example of the romantic gardens of the time, and is comprised of many different architectural styles which are superimposed upon one another. You can access the top of the structure by way of a spiral staircase and admire magnificent views of the mountains that surround the park.