wow. Nothing can be rescued? They are so gorgeous.

This breaks my heart. I wish I had the money to fix one of them up.

I was surprised when I visited Italy how art lives cheek-by-jowl with everyday life. Its very different from our climate- and crowd-controlled museums here in the US.

For instance, in Venice, the Duomo' unscreened windows were open. Enormous Titian paintings were exposed to the heat and humidity of the canals.

I was told it's partly the economic reality and partly that Italians are simply accustomed to these "everyday" masterpieces as part of their lives.

it is so sad that all that beauty and craftsmanship is wasted and rotting.

Wow, talk about dream architecture. It really is a shameful sight to see them wasting away.

These images are so hard to take.

I've been looking for a new place to live...

Unfortunately the Italian government has far more important things to spend tax money on. These villas are far too costly to restore and properly maintain given the realities of the modern world and there are not enough truly wealthy people around who are willing to take on the task.
The craftsmanship is nice and the skill required to produce it is admirable, but I am not a fan of this overly-ornate gluttonous style of architecture and decorating. I look at photos like these as a reminder of how transient the world is, and that nothing lasts forever- no matter what we want. They are also a representation of the unsustainable lives that so many of our ancestors lived.

As all italians, I'm well accustomed to those pictures. It's everywhere, around us. And I don't even think that place is beautiful, just overdecorated.
For anyone interested in the italian wasted heritage or willing to plan a out of the standards holiday http://eng.fondoambiente.it/index.asp

@mdorothy they open windows to let out the humidity and "change" the air inside! not the best airconditioning system, but it worked fine so far ;)

Haikyo! Ahh, I love Haikyo (taking photos of abandoned places)!

These villas are gorgeous. I wonder I could pick up one of the better ones cheaply. I need a change- moving to Italy would be nice. :)

There are similar photos of place in Detroit and someone else did this with mid century modern spaces.

http://flavorwire.com/336928/stunning-photos-of-abandoned-mid-century-modern-homes

Detroit used to have some of the most beautiful buildings and architecture around. This was the city that commissioned Diego Rivera to do a mural. Number 5 is the most haunting for me.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1882089_1850973,00.html

Reminds me of a Dario Argento movie.

Sanzhi-the pod city in Taiwan is interesting as well. (Second one down on this blog.)
What do we do with all of the buildings that get left behind as people and money move? I don't think it's the fault of the Italian Government as some of here have asserted. America is littered with abandoned malls of all sorts. Strip malls, mega malls. There are no local ordinances that make people tear these things down. And there are some cities that insist on assigning "historic" designations to every building around without considering the larger picture. Every year new malls go up, the new licensing city eager to drain business and sales revenue from the next town where the last mega mall was put up and will be abandoned as shoppers flock to the new place. Our we, and maybe the design blogs we are all addicted to, to blame for wanting newer and brighter spaces leaving these unfashionable and too expensive to maintain spaces behind to deteriorate? Our earth is littered with abandoned Chernobyl like spaces of one sort of another. If we tore them down and threw them into landfills, we probably wouldn't have enough space.

http://www.thehiat.org/2012/03/sanzhi-ufo-houses.html

Sorry "are we".

@Hicchan-the mayor is offering houses in Detroit for $1

I understand there are more pressing matters than to restore an 'old' building, but if cities didn't do that, we'd have no history. I live near SF and I love that the many beautiful older buildings we have that are still in working condition.
These pictures also break my heat.

Gimmie gimmie gimmie!!!
*Cough* Ahem... now that my inner child has spoken, it would be a real shame if these houses were left to rot. Ornate and outdated, yes, but still beautiful in their own right.

I hope some of that can be salvaged - wooden doors and windows at least! If I had unlimited funds, I would bring in an Italian fresco artists to do my whole house! But then, I would also have a house...

Which is why it makes no sense why these buildings wouldn't be saved, especially since they have probably been abandoned for decades. Try abandoning new construction for decades. Usually it's falling apart within the first year.