Description
On the Italian side of the Goriška Brda, in a place called Mossa/Moš, below a hill surrounded by a forest to the north, stands Villa Cobenzl, now Villa Codelli, from which the view extends over the vineyards in the south towards Cormòns/Krmin in the west. In the 18th century, the villa came into the possession of the Codelli family and thus received its present name.
The villa was built in 1564 by Baron Janez Cobenzl Proseški, an imperial confidant, official and diplomat who served as ambassador in Rome and Moscow at the court of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. He ended his career as a senior imperial official in charge of finances in the lands of Inner Austria (most of today's Slovenia and part of southern and eastern Austria). As these services were very well paid and he died without descendants, his fortune was inherited by his brother.
Janez Cobenzl was particularly interested in architecture, as on his travels through Italy he became acquainted with the characteristics of Italian architectural heritage, which served as a model for his restorations of buildings. He undertook several architectural projects. In 1580, he had the Štanjel Castle converted into a comfortable residence, and built a new wing with the entrance tower of the Predjama Castle and a new manor house in Prosecco. In Gorizia he built a villa, now an archdiocesan palace modelled on Villa Farnesina in Rome, designed by architect Baldassare Peruzzi.
Villa Cobenzl in Mossa/Moš was inspired by Venetian urban architecture, which spread from the Venetian Terraferma to western Friuli and the entire Adriatic coast, especially to rural estates whose headquarters were housed in buildings that imitated the urban architecture brought to the rural area.
In addition to the villa, the entire estate also includes outbuildings with a chapel, and is laid out on three levels. The first and lowest is a courtyard with outbuildings, which leads into a path through the vineyards. The middle level is a reception courtyard or cour d'honneur, and the third and highest level is a courtyard with a chapel consecrated in 1593.
The villa in Mossa/Moš is based almost entirely on the design of a Venetian palace, both in terms of its exterior, which is most evident in the triphora with a balcony on the floor called piano nobile, as well as in its interior, with the distinct floor plan, the arrangement of the rooms, an entrance hall and the salons above, which function as a connecting corridor like the andron and portego in a Venetian palace. The building was supposedly inspired by Villa Rudio in Landris, Sedico, in the province of Belluno.
Although the villa in Mossa/Moš represents the transfer of the architectural patterns of a Venetian city palace to the countryside with minor adaptations to the specific needs and requirements of the country, Villa Cobenzl is considered a unique feature in the territory of the once Habsburg land of Goriška.
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