Villa Spada, also known as “Villa La Quiete”, was reconstructed after the year 1815, drawing on the projects of the architect Giuseppe Valadier; this Villa is one of the most beautiful villas located in the area of the province of Macerata; it has a princely appearance thanks to the splendid park surrounding the villa, (with a panoramic terrace characterized by a balustrade overlooking over the Valley of Potenza), the house of the keeper, the stable and to the small neo-gothic temple, projected in 1833 by the architect Luigi Poletti.
If you pass through the neo-gothic gate, anchored to two little towers topped with a tapered column according to the neoclassical style of the ruin, you will arrive to the entrance avenue. A wide trapezoidal staircase allows to enter into the historical Villa.
The façade has a jutting central body constituted by a porch, the overlaying loggia and a cymatium decorated with ovolos in the upper part. A long atrium, flanked by coupled Doric columns places the visitors on a round hall, embellished with six Ionic columns topped by an elliptical dome.
The villa was owned by several landlords: the Gonfalonier Luigi Angelini, who commissioned the building project, the Spada Counts, the engineer Angelo Ferranti, Luigi Butteri, the Vanutelli Counts and a man named Don Mastrocola.
The Villa stands outside the walls of Treia, located in the district of San Marco Vecchio, on a slight hill where, in 1036, was built the Church of St. Savino and in 1579, it was also erected the monastery of the Capuchin friars.
“Villa La Quiete” is considered one of the masterpieces of the architect Giuseppe Valadier and its relevance is also linked to the field of agricultural trials.
The Georgica Academy of Treia was fascinated and interested by Villa Spada, in particular thanks to the greenhouses that allowed the study of test cultures. The gardener of the villa, Vittorio Micucci published a catalogue (1857) containing a list of all the species and the different varieties cultivated at the villa’s garden: anemones, azaleas, camellias, mums, dahlias, carnations, roses, verbenas and violas, palm trees and cycads.
Villa Spada, despite the succession of several landlords, fell into disrepair and over the years, in particular during the World War II was used as a place of imprisonment. The building was also used as a nursery school from 1960 to 1980 and after several vicissitudes, the Town hall of Treia decided to buy the whole complex.