The Villa was designed at the beginning of the 20th century by the architect Paolo Lanzerotti as a residence for the lawyer Paolo Zingali Tetto (Castiglione di Sicilia, 1879 – Catania 1969).
The demand for self-representation of this bourgeois class pushed for the modernization of the city, and found a befitting interpretation in the new compositional styles of some of the prominent architects of the period, to whom were entrusted the designs of the new dwellings. Among the professionals and artists involved in the construction of the Villa Zingali Tetto were Gaetano D’Emanuele and Salvatore Gregorietti, who appeared at the same time as Lanzerotti. While D'Emanuele designed the majority of the floorings and ceilings, Gregorietti was the artist of the stained glass present in the reception rooms and in the sunroom.
The villa contributes to the configuration of the wall of Borghese mansions which characterizes the final stretch of Via Etnea. The external areas of the villa are occupied by an Italian garden of around 420 sqm defined by a classical system of geometric flowerbeds outlined by a curb of lava stone and box hedges. This is mixed with some elements pertaining to the romantic garden style, such as an ornamental vase and an artificial grotto with hydrophilic plants and garden seats. At the rear of the villa is a terraced garden with a citrus grove.
Translated by Melissa Lengies - Carleton University, Ottawa (NP/NT Canadian International Intern)
