Decline and fall of the Italian villa: Haunting images of the forgotten palaces which are now spectacular ruins

• Photographer charts decline of country homes from Piedmont to Tuscany
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• Believed to be more than 300 ghost villages - 'paesi fantasma' - in Italy

By Nick Enoch
PUBLISHED: 08:14 EST, 1 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:11 EST, 1 August 2012 


A grand staircase lies in ruins - the steps have crumbled; its ornate railings covered in dust. On the decaying, bare walls, a splash of coloured panelling provides the last vestige of splendour.

This once-great Italian villa would most likely have been home to nobility during the Renaissance - but now, it and many others have been abandoned.
Yet there is still beauty to be found - frescoes depicting angels and rustic scenes, and vaulted ceilings which have managed to ward off the ravages of time.

To document their sad demise, photographer Thomas Jorion has roamed the north of the country - from Piedmont and Lombardy to Tuscany and Emilia Romagna - for his gallery series, entitled Forgotten Palaces.
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