Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly
Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So I wanted to
Speaker 1: do an episode on a haunted place, and so I
Speaker 1: just started kind of trawling the internet for lists of
Speaker 1: supposedly haunted places, and one of them came up over
Speaker 1: and over and photos of it are so beautiful and
Speaker 1: super intriguing. Spoiler alert. I think I don't believe in
Speaker 1: haunted places very much these days. We'll talk about. Today's
Speaker 1: topic is an abandoned mansion which has some very colorful nicknames.
Speaker 1: It's called the Red House, the Witch's House, or even
Speaker 1: the ghost House. But it was once a gorgeous and
Speaker 1: very luxurious mansion designed for a prominent citizen of northern Italy,
Speaker 1: and it's often described as haunted and having this dark history.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it's you know, like the brutal murder House. I
Speaker 1: have good news if that makes you feel squeamish. There
Speaker 1: are some interesting contradictions regarding that story. So this episode
Speaker 1: is definitely going to make our skeptics happy. But wait,
Speaker 1: you get a little bit of a twofur and we'll
Speaker 1: explain why at the end. The last segment is about
Speaker 1: a related topic, So the municipality of courtin Nova in
Speaker 1: northern Italy. So it's about thirty seven miles or sixty
Speaker 1: kilometers north of Milan. It's about seven point two miles
Speaker 1: or eleven point six kilometers southeast of Milano, on the
Speaker 1: eastern shore of Lake Como. This is an absolutely beautiful
Speaker 1: area of the country. It's lush with forests, but it
Speaker 1: is also home to a structure that is sometimes called
Speaker 1: the most haunted home in all of Italy, that is Villadeveki.
Speaker 1: So to talk about Villadeveki, we'll set the scene with
Speaker 1: the original owner, Felichia Deveki, who is also called Felix,
Speaker 1: which is what we'll call him by. But this particular
Speaker 1: piece of the episode gets a big fat caveat because
Speaker 1: there is not a ton of information about Felix de
Speaker 1: Veki available. The only resource that I could find initially
Speaker 1: that gave any of his biographical information was the Italian
Speaker 1: Wikipedia page for him. Normally we would never use Wikipedia,
Speaker 1: and there is a little more flexibility with a Halloween episode,
Speaker 1: but even so, not usually a place we would go to. However,
Speaker 1: I did pull his birth date from there. It did
Speaker 1: later get verified by something else, but he was born
Speaker 1: on February twelfth, eighteen sixteen. And there's some more information
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about later from that Wikipedia page
Speaker 1: that I think is important telling his story. But de
Speaker 1: Veki was an artist. He was born into a wealthy family,
Speaker 1: but he also became a created hero in the Italian
Speaker 1: National Guard. In his late twenties, de Veki was living
Speaker 1: in an Italy that was not yet unified, and he
Speaker 1: went on a long trip starting in eighteen forty one
Speaker 1: that took him through Turkya, Persia, India and Egypt. This
Speaker 1: journey was one that left a significant impression on Deveki,
Speaker 1: who was deeply interested in learning about the cultures of
Speaker 1: the places he visited. Several years after this trip, in
Speaker 1: eighteen forty four, Count de Veki married a woman named
Speaker 1: Carolina Franketti du Ponti. The two of them went on
Speaker 1: a long trip for their honeymoon. They traveled around to
Speaker 1: various locations throughout Italy, some of which Felix later captured
Speaker 1: in landscape paintings. We don't have a ton of painting
Speaker 1: examples of his, but there are some that have been
Speaker 1: attributed to him, and he tends to faint in the
Speaker 1: very dark sort of moody way. But de Veki's most
Speaker 1: famous achievement militarily was part of what's known as the
Speaker 1: Chinkue Giornate di Milano or Five Days of Milan. So
Speaker 1: the city of Milan, of course, has its own rich history,
Speaker 1: dating back to four hundred BCE. Over the centuries, it
Speaker 1: became a center of power as its financial and political
Speaker 1: influence grew and became really cemented. There had often been
Speaker 1: conflicts over Milan as various European powers sought to control it,
Speaker 1: but that only intensified from the Middle Ages on. From
Speaker 1: the end of the fifteenth century to the military action
Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight that made de Veki's reputation, Milan
Speaker 1: was ruled by in order, France, Switzerland, Spain, France, Spain, Austria, France, Austria,
Speaker 1: France and Austria again starting in eighteen fifteen. From eighteen
Speaker 1: fifteen to eighteen forty eight, Austria controlled the city and
Speaker 1: made it the capital of the Lombardy region. But on
Speaker 1: March eighteenth, eighteen forty eight, the people of Milan rebelled
Speaker 1: against the Austrian forces stationed there, and after five days
Speaker 1: of fighting, the Austrians left. Milan was still legally part
Speaker 1: of Austria for another eleven years, but the men who
Speaker 1: had led the fighting were lauded as Italian heroes, and
Speaker 1: Felix de Vechi had been among them. He was well educated,
Speaker 1: well traveled, and seemed to be a man whose life
Speaker 1: was on track for success. In the eighteen fifties, Felix
Speaker 1: de Veki acquired a thirteen hectar that's roughly twenty acre
Speaker 1: tract of land in Cortanova, and he envisioned a vacation
Speaker 1: home for his family there. I read one account that
Speaker 1: said that he had visited the area and was so
Speaker 1: struck it's right there, like we said, forested and by
Speaker 1: the mountains that he just knew he wanted to spend
Speaker 1: time there because of his travels in his earlier years,
Speaker 1: he had seen a lot of architecture from different cultures,
Speaker 1: and he wanted something unique that would incorporate classical Eastern architecture,
Speaker 1: borrowing motifs from the various styles he had seen, but
Speaker 1: particularly the ones he had seen in India, and to
Speaker 1: design this home, he hired a prominent architect by the
Speaker 1: name of Alessandro Sidoli. Alessandro Sidoli was born in Cremona, Italy,
Speaker 1: on July thirtieth, eighteen twelve. His family was not wealthy,
Speaker 1: but Alessandro was an artistic child and his father encouraged
Speaker 1: him to pursue art. He eventually attended architecture school in
Speaker 1: Cremona and he learned technical drawing and then went to
Speaker 1: design school. Next, he moved on to advanced architecture education
Speaker 1: in Milan, where he attended the Brera Art Academy, and
Speaker 1: he had distinguished himself. He earned a number of prizes
Speaker 1: during this phase of his education. He was admitted as
Speaker 1: a member to the Milan Academy of Fine Arts in
Speaker 1: eighteen forty seven. In between design commissions, Alessandro started teaching
Speaker 1: drawing lessons. By the eighteen fifties, when Deveki reached out
Speaker 1: about this villa project, Sidoli had become well known and
Speaker 1: highly respected for a lot of luxurious building projects in Italy.
Speaker 1: The home that Alessandro Sidoli designed for de Veki is
Speaker 1: a marvel of Neo Gothic opulence that borrows as requested
Speaker 1: from multiple design styles, including Eastern Classical, but it does
Speaker 1: so in a way that harmonizes all of them into
Speaker 1: one cohesive style. It is designed specifically for its mountain setting,
Speaker 1: and it almost blends into that setting despite being obviously
Speaker 1: a fancy home, and part of that is because local
Speaker 1: stone was used in its construction. The mansion features an
Speaker 1: exterior that's defined by its pointed towers, arches, buttresses, and
Speaker 1: rose windows. The towers, which rise up all around the
Speaker 1: mansion's roof, were each designed with a specific view in
Speaker 1: mind to take advantage of the home's elevated site, and
Speaker 1: the surrounding area is beautiful, but it would have been
Speaker 1: spectacular in the eighteen fifties when the home was built.
Speaker 1: There was detailed landscaping and surrounding gardens, complete with a
Speaker 1: pressurized fountain. They were designed to sort of extend the
Speaker 1: design of the home. The exterior of the house was
Speaker 1: painted red, and it still retains the nickname the Red House,
Speaker 1: although today that paint has faded and more than half
Speaker 1: of it has shipped away. Yeah, there are series as
Speaker 1: to why it was painted red, whether that was just
Speaker 1: something that de Vicki really loved, or if it had
Speaker 1: some meaning or borrow from something he saw on his travels.
Speaker 1: But we don't know. The interior of the house was
Speaker 1: designed to be just as thoughtful and intricate as the exterior.
Speaker 1: It is a three story structure. It consists of a basement,
Speaker 1: a ground floor, and an upstairs floor. The basement was
Speaker 1: a work area. The kitchen was down there, as well
Speaker 1: as food storage and laundry areas, so basically the places
Speaker 1: where the help would be on the ground level, where
Speaker 1: all the areas where people would gather, including the dining
Speaker 1: room and the guest bedrooms, were also on the ground floor,
Speaker 1: and the upper floor was where Deveki's bedrooms and family
Speaker 1: private spaces were. Initially, this home was also planned to
Speaker 1: have an observatory on the top floor, but that was
Speaker 1: never completed for a reason we are about to mention.
Speaker 1: There are full wall frescoes and detailed would work. The
Speaker 1: home was thoroughly modern for its time, with plumbing and heating.
Speaker 1: Even the furniture was part of the grand design and
Speaker 1: drew from the design education that Sidolei got as a
Speaker 1: youngster and incorporated into his comprehensive rendering for the villa.
Speaker 1: Construction began on the massive luxury project in eighteen fifty four,
Speaker 1: but very deep into the construction process, Alessandro Sidolei died suddenly.
Speaker 1: That left the team to continue building without his leadership.
Speaker 1: This was when the observatory and some additional details were
Speaker 1: omitted from the construction plan. Yeah, it had like another
Speaker 1: year to go when he died. And once the villa
Speaker 1: was completed, Felix de Veki and his family spent their
Speaker 1: summers at the Cortanova property, and then, after less than
Speaker 1: a decade in the house, unimaginable tragedy struck. Maybe we're
Speaker 1: going to talk about what happened, what little we know,
Speaker 1: and whether that is even true, after we pause for
Speaker 1: a sponsor break. Okay. First, is the usual version of
Speaker 1: the story regarding Villa Deeveki as it unfolds in most
Speaker 1: places you will find online. In eighteen sixty two, Felix
Speaker 1: de Veki was away from the villa at Cortanova on
Speaker 1: a military action, but his wife and daughter were still there.
Speaker 1: When the count returned to their vacation home after being away,
Speaker 1: the scene before him was anyone's worst nightmare. His wife
Speaker 1: was dead, she had been murdered. His daughter was nowhere
Speaker 1: to be found. In the way this story is told
Speaker 1: in English language sources, Devecki launched a year long investigation
Speaker 1: before he reached a point of such despair that he
Speaker 1: died by suicide. But this is another moment where I'm
Speaker 1: invoking the Italian language Wikipedia page, because that story is
Speaker 1: very different, And to be clear, I am not fluent
Speaker 1: in Italian, and I ran it through a translator and
Speaker 1: had a friend look at it. While his story there
Speaker 1: is sad, it is not at all the trauma that
Speaker 1: has been attached to the story in the murder kidnapping version.
Speaker 1: So in the version in his Wikipedia page, Felix's wife
Speaker 1: actually died in eighteen fifty one of presumably natural causes,
Speaker 1: before this house was ever built, leaving him with two
Speaker 1: young children to raise alone, a son and a daughter
Speaker 1: who were born in eighteen forty six. In eighteen fifty
Speaker 1: Felix did not die by suicide. He died from liver
Speaker 1: disease in Milan in eighteen sixty two. So it seems
Speaker 1: that the main story that's used as the groundwork for
Speaker 1: haunting claims that Viladeveci is not really true at all. So,
Speaker 1: knowing that this murder story is apparently unsubstantiated, it turns
Speaker 1: into a fun exercise to kind of hunt down the
Speaker 1: iterations of the murder of Devecki's wife, and we're specifically
Speaker 1: not saying Carolina because she was already deceased at the
Speaker 1: time this murder supposedly happened, and she was not a
Speaker 1: murder victim. So with that out of the way, here
Speaker 1: are some of the wilder variations on the murder story.
Speaker 1: One is that the murder was particularly grizzly and that
Speaker 1: the wife's face was possibly disfigured during it. One of
Speaker 1: Holly's favorites is that the disappeared daughter was the murderer. Also,
Speaker 1: some of the murder lore ties back to Deveki's status
Speaker 1: as a patriot and a liberation hero, So there's this
Speaker 1: suggestion that the murder and the kidnapping were politically motivated
Speaker 1: and that they were part of a larger plot against
Speaker 1: Deveki by his enemies and retribution for his various activities
Speaker 1: on the part of the Italian National Guard. It does
Speaker 1: seem that after Felix's death, which again seems to have
Speaker 1: been strictly from liver disease, his brother Biagio which is
Speaker 1: sometimes spelled with Justino on the end and sometimes in Io,
Speaker 1: assumed ownership of the villa and custody of the children,
Speaker 1: but Biajo, who did not share his brother's artistic vision,
Speaker 1: made a number of alterations to the home, which shifted
Speaker 1: its style to have fewer design touches borrowed from Eastern design.
Speaker 1: The mansion is largely just as it was built in
Speaker 1: terms of its basic structure, although it has had a
Speaker 1: significant amount of degradation and collapse, but it stayed in
Speaker 1: the de Vechi family, passing from Biago to his children
Speaker 1: and so on for the next eighty years. By the
Speaker 1: twentieth century, the house already had a reputation associated with
Speaker 1: darkness and the occult, so much so that former po
Speaker 1: podcast subject and well known occultist Alister Crowley visited and
Speaker 1: stayed several nights at the villa. This would have been
Speaker 1: during the time he was working on his book The
Speaker 1: Diary of a Drug Fiend, which came out in nineteen
Speaker 1: twenty two, because he was kicked out of Italy in
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty three after one of his followers died in
Speaker 1: Sicily under strange circumstances. Our Alister Crowley episode, which discusses
Speaker 1: all of this, was published on October fourth of twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one. And we just ran it as a Saturday classic.
Speaker 1: Once Crowley became associated with the villa, the rumors about
Speaker 1: this property exploded, all of which were very much in
Speaker 1: line with the kind of talk that often accompanies stories
Speaker 1: of Crowley. It seemed as though an endless string of
Speaker 1: unsubstantiated accusations and rumors began. The house was said to
Speaker 1: be used by Devians for massive orgies. Some versions of
Speaker 1: this story say that even after Crowley had been and
Speaker 1: booted from Italy, his followers would still go to the
Speaker 1: villa and do this. Keep in mind, if you're thinking
Speaker 1: of the timeline, Biago's descendants were still living there then,
Speaker 1: so that doesn't seem very likely. Stories of murders on
Speaker 1: the property started to circulate, as did claims that people
Speaker 1: went to this property specifically to die by suicide throw
Speaker 1: in some sacrifice stories. There are rumors that both humans
Speaker 1: and animals were sacrificed there, and Villa Deveki became the
Speaker 1: most haunted house in Italy by reputation, if not by evidence.
Speaker 1: In the years just before World War Two, the family
Speaker 1: moved out. The villa was reportedly empty in nineteen thirty eight.
Speaker 1: The details of why they moved are not clear. After
Speaker 1: the war, the Deveki family did not return to the home.
Speaker 1: It changed owners several times over the next fifteen years,
Speaker 1: although none of the subsequent owners ever lived. There's been
Speaker 1: considered abandoned since nineteen sixty. Some sources indicated that the
Speaker 1: property went up for auction a number of times and
Speaker 1: received no bids, but Holly could not substantiate that. It
Speaker 1: reportedly even reached a point where it was made available
Speaker 1: to any potential owner if the person receiving the property
Speaker 1: would legally agree to restore it, but the estimated cost
Speaker 1: of that restoration is so high that nobody ever took
Speaker 1: the offer. Additionally, the Italian Environment Fund has worked to
Speaker 1: bring public awareness to the villa. Yeah, it's not clear,
Speaker 1: and it's my fault because it's how I root it.
Speaker 1: But that offer of like if you'll restore it was
Speaker 1: literally like then you can have it for free, it's yours. Yeah,
Speaker 1: similar to there are instances of places in Italy. There's
Speaker 1: always those things you'll see circulated of like you could
Speaker 1: buy a house for five hundred dollars and it's like, yes,
Speaker 1: some of those exist, but you have to sign a
Speaker 1: lot of paperwork that promises that you will restore it
Speaker 1: and care of it. It requires five million euros of work.
Speaker 1: Literally was I think the lowest estimate that I saw
Speaker 1: for just getting this property to a point where it
Speaker 1: was not going to be dangerous to people anymore with
Speaker 1: six million dollars. And that's like bare bones, just fixing
Speaker 1: the things that are about to fall, So nobody wanted
Speaker 1: to do it. The home's twentieth century reputation as a
Speaker 1: haunted place and Crowley's name specifically being connected to it,
Speaker 1: has actually been the source of a lot of the
Speaker 1: property's modern day problems. After Crowley's visit and even more
Speaker 1: so after World War Two when it was empty, the
Speaker 1: site became a destination for people interested in the occults
Speaker 1: or in Crowley specifically, and a lot of them broke
Speaker 1: into the mansion, and while they probably didn't have orgies
Speaker 1: or sacrifice anything, they sure did vandalize it. And that
Speaker 1: vandalism got worse and worse as the early issues went unrepaired,
Speaker 1: and then things kind of spi world to a point
Speaker 1: where literally, if you look at pictures, every interior wall
Speaker 1: and many of the exterior surfaces have been spray painted
Speaker 1: or just wilfully damaged the stories of ghost activity have persisted.
Speaker 1: Locals claim that you can hear a piano playing in
Speaker 1: the house every full moon. There is still a piano
Speaker 1: in the house, although it has no legs and has collapsed.
Speaker 1: It seems likely that the story of the piano playing
Speaker 1: emerged after somebody trespassed in the abandoned house and saw it.
Speaker 1: There stories circulate in the area and among tourists drawn
Speaker 1: to the property that Count de Veki is still there
Speaker 1: on the property, and there are claims that you can
Speaker 1: hear a woman screaming tied to this murder story that
Speaker 1: doesn't have any hard evidence. In two thousand and two,
Speaker 1: an avalanche destroyed most of the neighboring homes, although Villa
Speaker 1: Deveki sustained only minor damage, and this event only added
Speaker 1: to its mystique as people started to say that the
Speaker 1: house must have been spared due to some sort of
Speaker 1: paranormal intervention. In twenty fifteen, there was a significant development
Speaker 1: in Felix de Veki's story. He owned a manor house
Speaker 1: in Row at the edge of Milan, and there his
Speaker 1: travel diary from the early eighteen forties was found. This
Speaker 1: was full of information about his travels. It was considered
Speaker 1: a culturally significant find because it brought Deveki's inner thoughts
Speaker 1: into focus after a lot of this information about him
Speaker 1: had faded from the historical record. Additionally, it reveals a
Speaker 1: lot about life in pre unification Italy and why Deveki
Speaker 1: became so invested in his political stance of resistance against
Speaker 1: countries that occupied Italian cities. He recognized the importance of
Speaker 1: cultural identity in other countries and wanted to foster a
Speaker 1: scenario where Italy could develop its own identity. The travel
Speaker 1: journal became the inspiration and main feature of an exhibit
Speaker 1: titled Caravan Journal the Rediscovered manuscript The Orient through the
Speaker 1: Eyes of a Forgotten Milanese Patriot Felis de Veki, which
Speaker 1: ran in the Villa of Berba in Row in October
Speaker 1: of twenty fifteen. This exhibit was jointly sponsored by the
Speaker 1: Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, the Lombardy Region, the
Speaker 1: Province of Milan and Expo twenty fifteen. In a twenty
Speaker 1: eighteen interview with Atlas Obscura, a man named Joseppin Negri
Speaker 1: joked that he was the ghost of Villadeveki. He said, quote,
Speaker 1: the reality is there are no ghosts. The ghost was me.
Speaker 1: Villadeveki was our life, our family. My great grandfather was
Speaker 1: the villa's gardener, same as my grandfather. At our little home,
Speaker 1: we used to organize cheerful dinners and lunches where we sang,
Speaker 1: played music and laughed. In response to the idea that
Speaker 1: the house is haunted and that a cold rich duols
Speaker 1: were performed there, Negree dismissed it by frankly saying, quote,
Speaker 1: it's all crap made up by crazy people. These people
Speaker 1: would sneak into the villa at night and smash up
Speaker 1: the doors. We decided to dress up like ghosts with
Speaker 1: bed sheets in order to scare them off. We were organized.
Speaker 1: I stayed at the door while my brother in law
Speaker 1: hid upstairs. He got them running towards me and bam.
Speaker 1: Boots were pretty common back then, so you could hear
Speaker 1: the sound of me beating them tac tech. It was
Speaker 1: a blast. Negree also mentioned punching one of his employees
Speaker 1: in the face in a case of mistaken identity. He
Speaker 1: thought the man was one of these intruders who had
Speaker 1: snuck into the mansion, and he went to investigate, and
Speaker 1: that is when the accidental punching happened. Negrey also kind
Speaker 1: of sadly mentioned that he could no longer bear to
Speaker 1: go inside the structure because it stayed after years of
Speaker 1: vandalism and neglect really discussed him. He said, of the
Speaker 1: once beautiful home, quote, to me, it was heaven on earth.
Speaker 1: Because of the many scary stories told about it has
Speaker 1: drawn the interest of a lot of people curious about
Speaker 1: its tragic history and spooky reputation. But there's another group
Speaker 1: of people who have an interest in visiting, and that's architects.
Speaker 1: It's said to be a pilgrimage for some architects to
Speaker 1: visit the property and see just how impactful Sidoli's design
Speaker 1: still is, even in this state of decay. Today, Villadeveki
Speaker 1: is often touted strictly as a ghost house, but there
Speaker 1: have been a number of efforts to preserve the villa.
Speaker 1: In some cases, these have not been focused on attempting
Speaker 1: to restore the site, as there's been so much vandalism
Speaker 1: and degradation over the decades that it would be just
Speaker 1: a monumental task that would involve the need for massive funding.
Speaker 1: But as recently as twenty twenty three, there have been
Speaker 1: interesting ideas about how Villadeveki could be managed and rehabilitated
Speaker 1: going forward. In a dissertation titled Atheneum Adaptive Reuse of
Speaker 1: Villadeveki into a Public Library, author Moham and Am laid
Speaker 1: out a potential plan for the site to be sustainably
Speaker 1: adapted for modern use in a way that would control
Speaker 1: the influx of visitors and prevent further damage. To be clear,
Speaker 1: this is a dissertation, it's not like a governmental initiative,
Speaker 1: but it outlines the way young architects might think about
Speaker 1: spaces like Viladeveki and how there could be a way
Speaker 1: forward for them to have a functional life in the future.
Speaker 1: For now, though this site is still in a very
Speaker 1: precarious state, there is wire around it to prevent unwanted visitors,
Speaker 1: although whether that's effective in keeping anyone out is pretty debatable.
Speaker 1: There are lots of very recent photographs from inside the house,
Speaker 1: so obviously people are getting in. The government also has
Speaker 1: prevented anyone from working on the house, in part because
Speaker 1: of its hazardous position and the likelihood that another avalanche
Speaker 1: or rock slide might happen in the area. So it
Speaker 1: seems unlikely that this particular mansion will be developed anytime
Speaker 1: in the near future as a public space. It turns
Speaker 1: out there is actually another abandoned Philadeveki with its own
Speaker 1: interesting history, and we will get to that one after
Speaker 1: we hear from the sponsors that keep Stuffy miss in
Speaker 1: history class going. We mentioned before the break that there
Speaker 1: is another Villadeveki, and this one is located not in Italy,
Speaker 1: though it has ties to Italy. It's located in Greece,
Speaker 1: on the island of Rhodes, and it is historically significant,
Speaker 1: and that historical tie is to fascism. It was built
Speaker 1: by a man who shared a last name with Felix
Speaker 1: de Veki, although it is unclear if they were related.
Speaker 1: I have seen some write ups that suggest they are
Speaker 1: distantly related, others that say they are not. I think
Speaker 1: it's a fair bet that's somewhere along the line. They
Speaker 1: may have an ancestor in common, but we don't know.
Speaker 1: Chase the a Marie de Vechi was born into a
Speaker 1: middle class family on November fourteenth, eighteen eighty four, in
Speaker 1: Cassallee Manferrato that is also in northern Italy, although it's
Speaker 1: on the opposite side of Milan, about one hundred kilometers
Speaker 1: or sixty two miles southwest of it. As a teenager,
Speaker 1: he enrolled in the Naval Academy, but did not stay there.
Speaker 1: He enrolled in law school instead at the University of Turin,
Speaker 1: and then went into law practice after graduation. Yeah I
Speaker 1: saw one biography that basically suggested that he could not
Speaker 1: hack military school. In the period of World War One,
Speaker 1: when Italy remained neutral, c Czare served in the military
Speaker 1: and rose to the rank of second lieutenant. Then, when
Speaker 1: Italy entered the war, he fought and rose to the
Speaker 1: rank of captain. In nineteen nineteen, he joined the Fascist
Speaker 1: Combat Group. He also became the president of the Turin
Speaker 1: Fascist Party. He described himself as quote a militant Catholic
Speaker 1: and an unreserved monarchy. From there he continued to rise
Speaker 1: through the ranks of Mussolini's fascist regime as the dictator,
Speaker 1: became Prime Minister on October thirty first, nineteen twenty two,
Speaker 1: and then gained and expanded his power. In nineteen thirty six,
Speaker 1: Deveki was made the governor of the Dodecanese Islands, which
Speaker 1: Italy had controlled since nineteen twelve, and one of his
Speaker 1: first orders of business there was to ensure that the
Speaker 1: main island of Rhodes had a palace worthy of Mussolini.
Speaker 1: This was also intended to be a centerpiece for the
Speaker 1: island culturally. This was important because it would make it
Speaker 1: entirely clear that Italy was in charge. There was an
Speaker 1: existing palatial structure in place on Roads That was the
Speaker 1: Palace of the Grand Master, which was built by the
Speaker 1: Knights Hospitaller in the thirteen hundreds. By the time Czzare
Speaker 1: Deveki got to Rhoads, that particular building was something of
Speaker 1: a ruin. He had a vision, though, to rebuild the
Speaker 1: site with a grand palace. Sometimes this is described as
Speaker 1: a renovation, and other times the wording makes it sound
Speaker 1: like a full rebuild. We're about to talk about a problem.
Speaker 1: That might be the reason those words are used interchangeably.
Speaker 1: This project started in nineteen thirty seven and lasted for
Speaker 1: three years. The design of the new villa is, like
Speaker 1: the other Villa Devechi, a blend of architectural styles. In
Speaker 1: this case it was Italian Renaissance with Gothic touches. This
Speaker 1: villa is often touted as being Mussolini's vacation villa, which
Speaker 1: she never actually used, but while it may have been
Speaker 1: intended for Mussolini to stay there. It was also intended
Speaker 1: to be Czardveki's base of operations on the island, so
Speaker 1: to that end it included office spaces and reception facilities,
Speaker 1: all of which were decorated with the blending of medieval
Speaker 1: and fascist design. Aside from being a symbol of fascist ideology,
Speaker 1: the construction of the new villa also obliterated parts of
Speaker 1: the original structure, erasing its history. Because this was a
Speaker 1: case where Italy was rebuilding a Greek structure and discarding
Speaker 1: elements of it in the process, it was seen as
Speaker 1: both cultural appropriation and erasure simultaneously, and this controversy was
Speaker 1: going on as this was being built. But all of
Speaker 1: it was very intentional on de Veki's part. He had
Speaker 1: been tasked with establishing Mussolini's fascist regime in the Islands
Speaker 1: in a way that was going to be obvious, clear
Speaker 1: and imposing, and he definitely succeeded. At the end of
Speaker 1: the war, de Vechi surrendered his division and went into
Speaker 1: hiding as he was sought by the puppet state of
Speaker 1: the Italian Social Republic after the show trial known as
Speaker 1: the Verona Trial. Deveki had been in favor of ousting Mussolini,
Speaker 1: so the dictator's surviving remnant sentenced him to death. He
Speaker 1: fled to Argentina with forged papers innineteen forty seven, but
Speaker 1: returned to Italy two years later. He died in Rome
Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty nine, at the age of seventy five. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Mussolini was shot on April twenty eighth, nineteen forty five.
Speaker 1: The villa on Rhodes was abandoned completely by nineteen forty seven,
Speaker 1: and much like the Villadeveki and Cortinova, it fell victim
Speaker 1: to vandalism and became largely covered in graffiti. Unlike the
Speaker 1: Cortanova property, though, you are welcome to visit the villa
Speaker 1: on roads and it draws a lot of tourists. Today
Speaker 1: it is called the Mussolini Villa just as much as
Speaker 1: the Villadeveki. In twenty fourteen, the Greek Island villa was
Speaker 1: listed on the market with the hope that someone would
Speaker 1: take a fifty year lease on the property. This was
Speaker 1: part of a larger effort by the Greek government to
Speaker 1: leverage various properties of significance in the hope of paying
Speaker 1: down the country's debts. The group of fourteen properties were
Speaker 1: advertised as potential hotel spaces. Three were for sale outright
Speaker 1: and the rest of them, like this one, were offered
Speaker 1: as long term leases. In July of twenty twenty, it
Speaker 1: was reported that the villa was still on the market.
Speaker 1: Throughout the effort to monetize these properties, the Greek government
Speaker 1: has faced criticism that it was selling off its history
Speaker 1: to the highest bidder, but Greek officials have pointed out
Speaker 1: that prospective investors are likely to bring more light on
Speaker 1: them on the international stage than what they're currently getting. Also,
Speaker 1: I didn't hear anything suggesting that this particular one is
Speaker 1: haunted just Steph Wish, other than haunted by the ghosts
Speaker 1: spector of fashions. Yeah, it's interesting the way it's written
Speaker 1: about today as being one of those historical places that
Speaker 1: is significant because it shows the opposite of what the
Speaker 1: island's culture and desires were. So it's a fascinating spot.
Speaker 1: I have cute cute cute listener mail. Are you ready yieth? Okay?
Speaker 1: This is from our listener Abby, who writes, Hi, Holly
Speaker 1: and Tracy. I hope you ladies are having a great
Speaker 1: week despite the crazy times we are living through these
Speaker 1: days here in the US. There are two reasons for
Speaker 1: this email. The first is to say you two are
Speaker 1: doing the heavy lifting and getting me through my workdays
Speaker 1: and keeping me sane after any exposure to current news.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I have been listening for years and find
Speaker 1: your voices to be so calming and at the same
Speaker 1: time entertaining anyway, enough gushing, honestly, thank you. The second
Speaker 1: reason for this email, and the reason I'm excited about it,
Speaker 1: is that I was just listening to an old episode
Speaker 1: where Holly mentioned that her family raised the same breed
Speaker 1: of dogs that are written about the fox and the hound.
Speaker 1: I know this she means redbone coon hounds, and I
Speaker 1: knew I just had to write in about our dog Cliff.
Speaker 1: Picture included, UH, don't worry. I just couldn't help myself.
Speaker 1: We rescued Cliff about two and a half years ago
Speaker 1: as a nine year old guy. He had lived a
Speaker 1: hard life as a bear hunting dog in Vermont. We
Speaker 1: introduced him to the comfort of living with dinks, including treats, toys,
Speaker 1: going up and downstairs, and the beach, none of which
Speaker 1: he had experienced before. We're so happy to have him
Speaker 1: with us in his retirement because he is just the
Speaker 1: sweetest best boy. However, we never had a hound dog before,
Speaker 1: and boy, has it been an experience with a steep
Speaker 1: learning curve for us. We wouldn't change a thing, though. Anyway.
Speaker 1: Enjoy the pick of Cliff, and thanks again for keeping
Speaker 1: me saying he certainly appreciates it. Abby is exactly correct.
Speaker 1: My family bred redbone coonhounds, and Cliff is adorable. He yes,
Speaker 1: extremely cute. Cliff. Cliff is great because he has that
Speaker 1: thing that a lot of dogs get on hound breeds.
Speaker 1: It seems extra pronounced to me, but I could be wrong,
Speaker 1: where they get gray hair around their muzzle and it's
Speaker 1: so sweet. Cliff is a distinguished gentleman. But I do
Speaker 1: know exactly what she's talking about with hound dogs, which
Speaker 1: are notoriously willful and have minds of their own and
Speaker 1: can be very smart and sneaky at times, but also
Speaker 1: like some of the sweetest dogs on the planet. If
Speaker 1: you are in the loyalty of a coonhound, that dog
Speaker 1: is your dog for life. Cliff is so sweet. I
Speaker 1: want to kiss his distinguished gentleman snout and I hope
Speaker 1: he is having the best day ever. Cliff, you are
Speaker 1: very lovable. Thank you Abby for sending this to me.
Speaker 1: This was a great trip do memory Lane. I haven't
Speaker 1: really spent a lot of time with coonhounds in my
Speaker 1: recent years, so it's a nice little flashback. If you
Speaker 1: would like to write to us and tell us about
Speaker 1: your dogs, your cats, your squirrels, your birds, bird watching,
Speaker 1: I'm into it. Share that spiders, lizards, snakes, trying to
Speaker 1: think of anything I wouldn't want to see a picture of,
Speaker 1: even bugs. I'm good with it. Tracy Mayfield differently, I'm
Speaker 1: not speaking for everybody. That's fine, Okay, great, I just
Speaker 1: didn't want to, you know, presume to be like, send
Speaker 1: us pictures of your cockroaches, and you'd be like, Holly stop,
Speaker 1: that's fine. Cool, all right. Then we got plans you
Speaker 1: could do any of that at History Podcast at iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: dot com. You can also subscribe to the show on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.