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Villa Serbelloni
Villa Serbelloni
The promontory of Bellagio (the ancient Bilacus) has fascinated generations of visitors, Italians and foreigners, like Gustave Flaubert, who in 1845 wrote these moving words: “one would like to live here and die here.”
Among the legends that circulate about Lake Como, one concerns the exact location of the two villas that Pliny the Younger, two thousand years ago, had built on its shores.
One, called Tragoedia, seems to be at the origin of the current Villa Serbelloni, located in one of the most spectacular panoramic spots of the Lario. Certainly, there was a medieval fortress here, destroyed by the Visconti, while in the 15th century Marchesino Stanga, treasurer of Ludovico il Moro, had a palace built here, also demolished.
In the following centuries, Francesco and then Ercole Sfondrati built a new residence, sumptuous and rich with lush gardens, with citrus, laurel, jasmine, and pomegranate cultivations. From the Sfondrati, the property was sold in 1788 to Alessandro Serbelloni, who, in addition to adorning the villa with precious works of art, took care of the large garden-park, introducing the species in vogue in the emerging landscape style: acidophilic plants, oleanders, and exotic conifers.
Retaining walls were raised to create a network of paths and resting places from which to admire the lake landscape. Formal spaces were also included, which unusually follow the curved shape of the promontory.
This was the time when the natural environment was widely exploited, which lent itself perfectly to the formation of a woodland-park, crossed by a long avenue that still today leads up to the villa. On the sides are harmoniously distributed various spaces: terraces, hedges, flower beds, and small buildings intended to host young scholars from different fields of knowledge, in search of peaceful hours of thought and creation.
The promontory of Bellagio (ancient Bilacus) has fascinat- ed generations of visitors, like Gustave Flaubert, who wrote these moving words in 1845: “One would like to live here and die here”.
Among the legends about Lake Como there is one concerning the precise location of the two villas that Pliny the Younger built on the lakeshore two thousand years ago.
One of them, called Tragoedia, seems to have been the origin of the Villa Serbelloni, situated in one of the most spectacular places in the whole of Lario. There was a medieval fort on this site, destroyed by the Visconti family, while in the 15th century Marchesino Stanga, treasurer of Lodovico il Moro, had a palace built here, now also demolished.
Later, Francesco and then Er- cole Sfondrati constructed a new luxurious residence with lush gardens, including citrus orchards, laurel and jasmine. The Sfondratis sold the property to Alessandro Serbelloni in 1788, who embellished the villa with valuable works of art and took an interest in the park, introducing acidophilic species in vogue in the new fashion of landscaping such as oleanders and exotic conifers.
Retaining walls were erected to create a network of paths and viewpoints from which to admire the lake. Formal areas were also added, which unusually follow the arced promontory.
This was the time when the natural environment was greatly exploited, since it lent itself perfectly to the creation of a wooded park, bisected by a long avenue that still today leads up to the villa. This avenue is flanked by terraces, hedges, flower beds and buildings designed to host young scholars in different fields of knowledge, wishing to think and create in a calm atmosphere.
Info: www.bellagiolakecomo.com
Gardens of Villa Serbelloni
Piazza della Chiesa 4 Bellagio (Promobellagio office) tel./fax 031 951555
Email info@promobellagio.it
Excerpt from “I GIRADINI”, Grandi Giardini Italiani (www.grandigiardini.it) – CCIAA Como, Province of Como.
The entire guide can be consulted at http://www.co.camcom.it/guideturismo
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