Article by Alexandru Muraru, appeared in Timpul magazine, August 14, 2017
"Villa Sparta today, in Florence, between history and indifference
I was yesterday to look again for the third time in the last seven years, Sparta Villa in San Domenico di Fiesole (Via Fontanela 21, located behind San Domenico Church) near Florence, home of Queen Mother Elena between 1933 and 1980! . Every time I see this place, I have a feeling of sadness over the memory of this extraordinary Queen of the Romanians.
Every time I see this place, I have a feeling of sadness over the memory of this extraordinary Queen of the Romanians.
The address is quite easy, the locals of San Domenico de Fiesole (a satellite of Florence) know of "Villa Sparta". There is now no commemorative plaque to remember the years when MS Queen lived. In 2013-2014, when I was at the head of the National Heritage Institute, along with Andrei, who was then headed by IICCMER, I took the initiative to do so. The Royal House and the Muncipality here, through the consulate, agreed and advanced a lot. Including the text of the commemorative plaque had been agreed with the Royal House. Once IICCMER has changed, everything has been abandoned, nothing has been done.
Those in the Romanian community here in Florence (quite a lot, made up in the last 15 years) with whom we talked do not know about this detail and were very surprised to find that in these places where they settled, Spent much of her life, the Queen of Romania.
It is also regrettable that the Romanian authorities have not even thought of recovering the memory of one of the greatest Romanian female figures. This shows the media of the Romanian diplomacy in general, with a functional vision, without any imagination or initiatives of any kind. As I said, the Romanians in Florence know nothing about the history of the villa or about the connection between these places and the Queen Mother, but they would certainly be proud if the mother MS King's memory would be recovered. It would be a part of their identity, so perforated and shattered today across Europe. They would also be proud if in the coming years - with the goodwill of the Florentine authorities - a street or a market would bear the name of Queen Mother Elena of Romania.
Villa Sparta can be considered by far the second cradle of the Romanian monarchy in exile, after Versoix. This place has been a place of pre-eminent aristocratic history over the last 400 years, but the glory of the place is far from after 1933, when Princess Elena of Greece and Denmark, then Queen Elena (1896-1982) The huge garden. The name of the villa reminds of the Queen's mother's Greek origins. The complex is restored in the interior and exterior (Architects and Landscape Architects Cecil Pinsent and Petro Porcinai) since 1935 and becomes an important point of Italian cultural life and European royal houses.
Because of the severe financial difficulties faced by the royal family of Romania after 1948, Queen Mother Elena had to mortgage the building in the 70's. The disease and lack of resources determined the sale of the Sparta villa in 1980, this decision deeply affecting the Queen , Which hastened his suffering and end. Including Queen Ana had testified that she had to sell the family jewels together with King Mihai to be able to keep the villa, but with no success.
Villa Sparta is today the same majestic place, vibrant and full of the history of royalty. The main building and service building were later transformed into seven apartments, some with large areas (over 500sqm) and the surrounding garden grounds. Some of these apartments are today on the real estate market for sale or rent. The most expensive apartment sells about 5 million euros."
Vila Sparta astăzi, la Florența, între istorie și indiferență - Alexandru Muraru