The red-ochre façade of Palazzo Boyl, surrounded by an English garden and high palm trees, dominates the historic centre of Milis, a town outside of Oristano.
The building is a gem of mostly Neoclassical Piedmontese architecture and has almost a thousand years of history behind it. It started out as a monastery, became an aristocratic residence in the XIV century and then completely rebuilt in the 1600s, the old building folded into the new one. Until the end of that century it belonged to the Vacca family. Following a marriage, it became the property the Boyl, a family of Piedmontese nobles, relatives of the Savoy dynasty, who kept it until 1978.
Over the centuries, the building underwent further changes: the entrance gallery and Neoclassic flair are the most apparent of these. The façade is graced with windows under slightly overhanging edges. The white frames contrast with the Pompeii red of the walls. In the middle is a great door under a wrought iron balcony and, further up, a belvedere terrace. At the top are great white clock and four busts of white marble, allegories for the four seasons.
Inwardly, in the spacious rooms of the lower floor are gorgeous mosaic floors and furniture that echo the nobility of the aristocratic Boyl family. On the upper floor is the fascinating Museum of Sardinian Dress and Jewellery, an ethnographic exhibition of textiles, garments and ornaments that span two centuries of history. The courtyard is home to an amphitheatre where events are held.
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
