Palazzo di villa dei Garzoni di Collodi. Considerazioni preliminari al progetto di restauro

The contribution presents the preliminary studies undertaken for the restoration of the Garzoni Villa Palace in Collodi, considered as part of a complex architectural and landscape system comprising the palace, monumental garden, church, summer pavilion, village, and surrounding territory. Archival research reconstructs the building’s long transformation from a medieval fortified residence into a Baroque villa palace, highlighting the seventeenth-century intervention attributed to Muzio Oddi and the later contribution of architectural and scenographic ideas associated with Filippo Juvarra and Ottaviano Diodati. The historical analysis was integrated with an interdisciplinary knowledge project combining laser-scanner survey, three-dimensional modelling, photographic documentation, stratigraphic analysis of the masonry, thermography, in situ testing, and laboratory characterisation of stone, brick, and mortar. The investigations identified deterioration largely associated with ineffective rainwater disposal and rising damp, as well as localised foundation settlement, outward deformation of masonry, widespread permanent deformation of timber floors, and incipient structural failure in two ground-floor rooms. The resulting knowledge framework supports a conservation and adaptive-reuse strategy combining museum, hospitality, and residential functions while safeguarding the decorated interiors. The study emphasises the need to reconnect the palace with the garden and historic village through coordinated conservation, accessibility, maintenance, and community-based enhancement measures.