Sorio Villa

A colonnaded house appeared in his sight, the trees sparser, their boughs shielding it only a little. And even that cleared as the cart clattered onto a paved circle in front of a tall entrance way. A roofed porch perching on on the heads of carved statues shaded the steps where a tall figure stood waiting.

Sorio Villa is the family home of Tertius Canio Sorio, Royal Mage to the Manirex of Juventius. A fortified villa in the 4th Century Juventian style, it has been inhabited continuously by the Sorio family for three hundred years.
Though the house is more modest than many wealthy estates, it boasts one of the largest private gardens in the city, with a park around the house proper. Frius was an amateur botanist and the gardens include many rare plants from across the world. The walls the estate is surrounded by are a remnant of when the outer city was unfortified and estates had to provide their own defence
The villa is located about 10 minutes walk from the Collegium of the Arcane, in the medeis quarter which is largely inhabited by other old magical families employed at the Collegium of the Arcane.

Architecture

Sorio Villa was built in the classical style of a country villa - a two story marble faced, brick structured, with four wings surrounding a courtyard. Three of these wings are divided between storage, servants quarters and kitchens. The top level of each wing has a balcony overlooking the courtyard.
The larger front wing faces outwards on formal gardens, with a highly ornamented pediment supported by columns (in the form of caryatids) greeting guests. The family primarily lives on the upper floor of this wing, the bottom level serving as guest accomodation and formal entertaining rooms. The interior of the home is largely open plan to deal with the climate of Juventius, with numerous windows and doors opening out onto the interior courtyard, which is a mixture of productive garden and ornamental plants.

History

The villa was built for Frius Rhesus Sorio in 418, after Frius was appointed Mage to Marcallas Therius Cosmisius in the aftermath of the War of Dynasties. The villa was a celebration of the family's new found status and wealth, built sumptuously and with decades of occupation in mind. Though it has been updated with modern amenities, the villa’s architecture is largely the same as it was nearly three hundred years ago.

Type

House, Large