Villa Sorra sits on the Emilian plain, now being urbanized. The elements of the Villa are the park, the historical garden, the romantic architecture, the watercourses and the country garden. It is a significant complex in the agrarian landscape with several artistic elements. Nearby there are
several other buildings of historical and architectural value, including the castles of Panzano, Spilamberto and Vignola and S.Silvestro Abbey in Nonantola. The Modena area is famous for its gastronomic products. The garden was begun in the in the 18th century, at a time
when Italian gardens came under the influence of the French style of André le
Notre. Between 1827 and 1850 the garden design was changed to the landscape,
pictorial and romantic character typical of English gardens. Marquise Ipollita
Levizzani, the wife of Count Cristoforo Munarini Sorra, gave this task to
Giovanni de' Brignoli di Brunnhoff. Castle-like pavillions were put together
with fake ruins and classical temples so that the romantic garden suggests sentimental
itineraries and invokes both horror and the sublime. Villa Sorra is an outstanding example of Emilian baroque architecture, dating from c1800 and based on a design by Giuseppe Antonio
Torri. It is on three levels and has a pyramidal form, with a massive block at
the base and two wings near the entrance. There is a stately hall with oval
shaped with two sections, dominated by a great cloister vault on an elliptical
plan, which is the fulcrum around which rooms and accessory spaces are
symmetrically and orderly placed. The horse stable, the ice house and dairy
were built at the same time as the house.
