Today marks the release of the book “Villa Blanc, Rinascita di un monumento tra eclettismo e modernità” (Villa Blanc, Rebirth of a Monument Between Eclecticism and Modernity), edited by the architects Giovanni Carbonara, a restoration theorist and leader of the “Roman school” who passed away recently, and Massimo Picciotto, who led the Villa's restoration project.

Speakers at the event include Luigi Abete, President of the Luiss Business School, Vincenzo Boccia, President of Luiss, and Giovanni Lo Storto, General Manager of Luiss.

The book chronicles the often challenging journey that began in 2010 and has been pursued by Luiss over the years to preserve and enhance an architectural complex that had fallen into a state of complete neglect and disrepair.

The book presentation not only details the Villa’s restoration and recovery but also provides an opportunity for discussion about the benefits of such initiatives. These projects not only restore the property but also breathe new life into it, giving it a renewed purpose.  This project is perfectly in line with the University’s strategy: to create “learning environments” aimed at restoring disused properties while respecting the surrounding area, implemented according to the principle of enhancing and improving what already exists, along with architectural and urban development.

Luigi Abete, President of Luiss Business School: “Today, Villa Blanc is a place that returns a piece of history to the community and provides a space for education, study, and innovation for the larger Luiss community. The Villa’s redevelopment project, meticulously detailed in the book, underscores that private initiatives can not only revitalize a property but, more importantly, preserve and enhance it through new uses, benefiting citizens and society as a whole.”

Luiss acquired Villa Blanc in 1997 and has made it the home of the Luiss Business School since 2016. It took 1.2 million hours of work to restore the property to its former glory. It overlooks 39,000 square meters of parkland, with over 9,000 square meters open to the public all week and used as a playground for children. Furthermore, guided tours offer a chance to admire the architectural and natural beauty, reflecting a desire to foster broader community engagement.

Villa Blanc is the main campus of the Luiss Business School. With a faculty of 250 Italian and international professors, the school offers over 150 educational programs each year, attended by an average of about 2,000 students from Italy and abroad.

Last August, the School earned AACSB certification, joining its two other prestigious international accreditations  for management education, EQUIS and AMBA, and became part of the elite group that includes about 1% of business schools worldwide.