Built in 1910 by the Boggia construction firm with graffito decoration entrusted to the Como-based Giovanni Ghielmetti company, Villa Cantaluppi Giuliani is now open to the community: a rare case, among Brunate’s Art Nouveau villas, of a historic residence given back to the public life of the village.
Standing on Via Roma, in the heart of the historic centre, it embodies the eclectic Art Nouveau spirit of the second decade of the twentieth century, with details that reward a close look: double loggia balconies facing the valley, an elegant glass and wrought-iron canopy above the entrance, and floral ornaments in concrete, iron, glass and ceramic that seem to make the building converse with the surrounding landscape. It originally belonged to the Cantaluppi family and later passed to the Giulianis, owners of the pharmaceutical company of the same name.
Today the villa is on loan to the Municipality of Brunate and to the local branch of the National Alpini Association, which holds public events there: a concrete chance, for anyone visiting the village, to step through its doorway rather than simply admiring it from outside, as is the case with most of the area’s Art Nouveau villas.