Villa del Balbianello, Lake Como, Italy
Because our first visit to Bellagio a couple of years ago was so short on time we didn’t have much time to tour the area. Since we had a little bit more time this round, we decided to spend a gorgeous afternoon taking the ferry across the lake to visit the famed Villa del Balbianello.
Villa del Balbianello is just one of many beautiful, historic, gigantic mansions on Lake Como, although a slightly more famous one than some of the others. Having been used as a movie set for Star Wars Episode II (where Padme comforted Anakin after his nightmare, and where they got married), Oceans Twelve, and Casino Royale (where Bond was recuperating from his torture), many movie fans will recognize its features. Truly though – it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is otherworldly.
Originally built for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini at the end of the 18th century, it passed through several hands before being purchased by famed Italian explorer Guido Monzino. Mr. Monzino then left it to a national historic trust when he passed. I have to say that despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling well (oncoming food poisoning), this was one of my favorite days of the trip. Because we’re past tourist season, there weren’t a lot of other people at the Villa; we practically had the place to ourselves. We were able to take a tour of the house itself – left as Mr. Monzino left it, including his impressive Chinese, African, and Pre-Columbian art collection as well as all of his expedition artifacts (he was the first Italian to climb Everest). The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day. We reluctantly hopped back on the ferry to Bellagio when the Villa closed for the day. This is definitely also on my “must return” list.
Anne
Congratulations on the fantastic pictures of this magical place.The visit to Villa Balbaniello was the high point of our tour of Lago di Como. A few further bits of information about Guidoand the Villa.
It was the Visconti family who owned it before Guido and their symbol on the coat of arms of the snake eating the baby is gruesome but very memorable . Guido’s symbol on his coat of arms is a large stag looking up to the sun.
He was the heir to the Italian department store “Standa” and his first act upon purchasing the villa was to remove all traces of its previous incumbents and adapt it to his taste and needs. The carefully selected French and English furniture and antiques complement perfectly his wonderful collections of South American, African and Asian art.He only spent about 3 weeks a year in the villa and it was he who constructed the road to the Villa from Lenno to enable it to be reached by car.It was the era of the “anni di piombo” when he took over the villa and he was constantly in fear of being kidnapped by the Red Brigades for a large ransom. This led him to block up one of the quirkier parts of the Villa, the secret passage which had been installed by the original owner , Cardinal Durini , to escape an unexpected attack. Guido wanted the villa to be his sanctuary and his generous gesture of leaving it as a gift to FAI ( Italian national trust) means that we can all now share this idyllic spot which now describes the life of an adventurer/explorer who achieved so much in his life tragically cut short by lung cancer , caused by his addiction to tobacco. The one challenge he could never overcome was to quit smoking and he paid the price with an all too early death.
Brady
What an amazing adventure…I’ve only made it through part of the trip!