There are some places that are so cinematically beautiful and impressive it is hard to believe that they are real, that they haven't been perfectly put together to appear on a screen or page. Imagine, for example, a stunningly pretty Italian palace that looks strikingly like a perfect little doll's house, surrounded by gardens heavy with the smell of roses, filled inside with lyrical sculptural works by Canova, and overlooking the tranquil waters of the beloved and lovely Lake Como...sounds too good to be true, right? And, yet, this is a real description of the utterly idyllic Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina. One of Italy's most charming and wonderful examples of a historic villa (which is saying something as there is no shortage of stunning villas in Italy!), this incredible architectural gem is a must-see for those who have found a vacation rental in Lombardy and who are exploring the most beautiful nooks and crannies of Lake Como.
The Villa Carlotta traces its origins to the rise of the Clerici family from rural origins to successful silk merchants in the 16th century due to the efforts of Giorgio Clerici. His sons then furthered the wealth and status of the family with Pietro Antonio Clerici being made a Marquis and Carlo becoming the owner of several palaces in Milan and Brianza. Carlo's son, also named Giorgio Clerici, was also a marquis and then became a senator in 1684 and was nominated as President of the Senate in 1717. It was he who decided to establish a country estate on ancestral lakeside land at Tremezzo and its first iteration was completed in 1695. His great grandson Anton Giorgio Cerici then completed the villa in 1745 but died with little money left to the estate after sinking major investments into the Palazzo Clerici in Milan. Unusually, we do not actually know for certain who the architect of the villa was.
The Villa Carlotta traces its origins to the rise of the Clerici family from rural origins to successful silk merchants in the 16th century due to the efforts of Giorgio Clerici. His sons then furthered the wealth and status of the family with Pietro Antonio Clerici being made a Marquis and Carlo becoming the owner of several palaces in Milan and Brianza. Carlo's son, also named Giorgio Clerici, was also a marquis and then became a senator in 1684 and was nominated as President of the Senate in 1717. It was he who decided to establish a country estate on ancestral lakeside land at Tremezzo and its first iteration was completed in 1695. His great grandson Anton Giorgio Cerici then completed the villa in 1745 but died with little money left to the estate after sinking major investments into the Palazzo Clerici in Milan. Unusually, we do not actually know for certain who the architect of the villa was.
It is understandable, given the state of their finances, that Anton Giorgio's only daughter sold the property in 1801 to Giovanni
Battista Sommariva, another figure who had risen greatly in wealth and status in life from a barber's apprentice to a banker and a Napoleonic politician with a position of great power in Napoleon Bonaparte's Northern Italian government. The year after purchasing the villa, Sommariva was a candidate to be vice president of the Republic of Italy but was passed over for the position by Napoleon in favour of Francesco Melzi d'Eril. This, effectively, put the brakes on Sommariva's political trajectory and he retired , focusing, instead, on perfecting his new home and appointing it with beautiful works of art. He gave the villa a ninteenth century makeover, adding balconies to take in those incredible views over the lake and commissioning works from leading artists of the time such as the sculptors Antonio Canova and Bertal Thorwaldsen and the painter Francesco Fidanza. Sommariva also had the grounds worked on and built a family chapel and mausoleum near the shore and established a romantic, English-style garden.
After Sommariva's death, his fortune was divided between among family members and the house and grounds were eventually sold to Princess Marianne, wife to Prince Albert of Prussia, in 1843. Four years later, in 1847 Prince Marianne gave the villa to her daughter, Charlotte, as a wedding present. While Charlotte died just eight years later due to complications from childbirth, the villa was renamed Villa Carlotta for her during her lifetime and has retained the name ever since then. Her family continued to use the villa as a private holiday home and both sold some of its wonderful art collection and added to the gardens, introducing an impressive variety of some rather more rare and exotic species. After the end of WWI in 1921, Como Province seized the villa from its German owners for the Italian State, claiming that it was of national significance. While there was talk of selling the villa, this was resisted by locals and it was ultimately given to the Ente Villa Carlotta, a charitable foundation that is still responsible for the villa, which is now opened to the public as a museum, botanic garden, and event space that often hosts various musical and theatrical performances.
Battista Sommariva, another figure who had risen greatly in wealth and status in life from a barber's apprentice to a banker and a Napoleonic politician with a position of great power in Napoleon Bonaparte's Northern Italian government. The year after purchasing the villa, Sommariva was a candidate to be vice president of the Republic of Italy but was passed over for the position by Napoleon in favour of Francesco Melzi d'Eril. This, effectively, put the brakes on Sommariva's political trajectory and he retired , focusing, instead, on perfecting his new home and appointing it with beautiful works of art. He gave the villa a ninteenth century makeover, adding balconies to take in those incredible views over the lake and commissioning works from leading artists of the time such as the sculptors Antonio Canova and Bertal Thorwaldsen and the painter Francesco Fidanza. Sommariva also had the grounds worked on and built a family chapel and mausoleum near the shore and established a romantic, English-style garden.
After Sommariva's death, his fortune was divided between among family members and the house and grounds were eventually sold to Princess Marianne, wife to Prince Albert of Prussia, in 1843. Four years later, in 1847 Prince Marianne gave the villa to her daughter, Charlotte, as a wedding present. While Charlotte died just eight years later due to complications from childbirth, the villa was renamed Villa Carlotta for her during her lifetime and has retained the name ever since then. Her family continued to use the villa as a private holiday home and both sold some of its wonderful art collection and added to the gardens, introducing an impressive variety of some rather more rare and exotic species. After the end of WWI in 1921, Como Province seized the villa from its German owners for the Italian State, claiming that it was of national significance. While there was talk of selling the villa, this was resisted by locals and it was ultimately given to the Ente Villa Carlotta, a charitable foundation that is still responsible for the villa, which is now opened to the public as a museum, botanic garden, and event space that often hosts various musical and theatrical performances.
One of the main highlights of a visit to the villa today includes taking in the excellent art collection that still exists inside the building which includes copies after Canova, the original plaster cast of Canova's The Muse Terpsichore, Canova's Palamedes (which was commissioned by Sommariva), The Entrance of Alexander the Great in Babylonia by Bertel Thorvaldsen, The Last Adieu of Romeo and Juliet by Francesco Hayez (also a Sommariva commission), The Reading of the VIth Book of the Aeneid by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, and other paintings by Andrea Appiani and Giovanni Migliara, among other works in various media. Given that these works are set inside the space many of them were specifically commissioned to occupy and that much of the original (or certainly from a later period in the villa's history of use and ownership) furniture and decor still surrounds and that these spaces are so lovely, the experience of viewing these artworks in the Villa Carlotta is a rather special one.
Of course, the other great boon of the Villa Carlotta is what surrounds it: the gardens and the setting. Geometrical and intricate and featuring fountains, statues, flower beds, terraces, massive old trees, exotic plants, views over the lake and mountains that frame it, and much more besides, it is no wonder that these gardens attracting an astounding 200,000 visitors each year.
So, if you have found a vacation rental in Lombardy and are exploring the region and Lake Como, in particular, then you should make time to take the trip out to Villa Carlotta to see its incredible beauty for yourself! One of the most charming villas in all of Italy, it is a truly magical place.
Of course, the other great boon of the Villa Carlotta is what surrounds it: the gardens and the setting. Geometrical and intricate and featuring fountains, statues, flower beds, terraces, massive old trees, exotic plants, views over the lake and mountains that frame it, and much more besides, it is no wonder that these gardens attracting an astounding 200,000 visitors each year.
So, if you have found a vacation rental in Lombardy and are exploring the region and Lake Como, in particular, then you should make time to take the trip out to Villa Carlotta to see its incredible beauty for yourself! One of the most charming villas in all of Italy, it is a truly magical place.
Photo credits
picture 1: Diego Bonacina / CC BY-SA 4.0;
picture 2: Wolfgang Sauber / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Alisa58 / CC BY-SA 4.0
picture 1: Diego Bonacina / CC BY-SA 4.0;
picture 2: Wolfgang Sauber / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Alisa58 / CC BY-SA 4.0
