Tenuta Reale (Viareggio)

Tenuta Reale (English: Royal Estate) was a landed property, located at the outskirts of Viareggio, Italy. It was carved out as private estate in the 1810s, when it covered few hundred hectares; over time its size diminished due to expropriations and sales of various plots. Tenuta belonged to the ducal family of House of Bourbon-Parma and its descendants, since the 1890s married to the Habsburg-Lothringens; in 1985 its remains were donated to the municipality of Viareggio. The centre of the estate was a large mansion known as Villa Borbone; it forms part of local architectural heritage, and its most recognized part is the sepulchral chapel, which hosts remnants of various historical personalities. The past of Tenuta Reale is at the crossroads of national histories of Italy, Spain and Austria; its other peculiarity is that it is related almost exclusively to female owners and was shaped by numerous women. The Villa currently is open to public and hosts exhibitions, conferences, concerts etc.