De Rin 1883

What secrets does a crumbling villa hold? Here, overlooking the valley of San Giovanni in Trieste, stands the haunting skeleton of De Rin 1883. It’s a whisper of grandeur, a forgotten testament to a family’s rise and fall. De Rin 1883 wasn’t always a ruin. It began as a refuge, a collection of farmhouses built by Triestine settlers in the 1520s seeking safety from invaders and cholera outbreaks. They cultivated the land, transforming the slopes into vineyards and fields. The Marchesetti family, local nobles, acquired the property in the late 17th century. They established a vast vineyard known as “Marchesettia,” providing stone for Trieste’s growing cityscape. Vittorio De Rin, upon marrying into the Marchesetti family, transformed the rustic dwellings into a striking villa in 1854. Architect Domenico Righetti designed De Rin 1883 in the late Gothic style, incorporating existing 16th-century bastions. The villa showcased pointed arch windows, rose windows of sandstone, and Venetian Gothic-inspired quatrefoils. Pinnacles crowned the roofline. Inside, fourteen rooms housed a grand salon with a distinctive fireplace and a first-floor room boasting a pink marble fireplace and frescoes by Lorenzo Giuseppe Gatteri. De Rin 1883’s elegance, however, was short-lived. Abandoned by the family after 1880, the villa fell into disrepair. During World War II, German troops occupied the villa, further damaging its structure. A partisan attack in 1944 caused a fire that destroyed the right wing and the grand salon. Yugoslav and then British troops later occupied the ravaged building. By 1960, the De Rin heirs bequeathed the property to the Curia of Trieste, which housed Istrian refugees there. Sadly, deemed unworthy of preservation by the Fine Arts Superintendency, De Rin 1883 was looted, its fireplaces, friezes, doors, and even the sandstone crests adorning its facade stolen. A plaque bearing the inscription “CRISTOFOR CHALADINO FECIT.AN.D. MDLXXXI” vanished in 1975. Though once a symbol of prosperity and architectural beauty, De Rin 1883 now stands as a poignant reminder of time’s relentless march. Yet, even in ruins, the villa retains a powerful presence, its weathered stones echoing with stories of a bygone era. In the 1990s, the Tomsich family purchased the property. Their efforts stabilized the ruins, allowing De Rin 1883 to stand as a testament to a rich and complex past.