Villa del Balbianello stands on the Lavedo peninsula, at Lenno, in the comune of Tremezzina. Since 1988 it has been managed by the Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (FAI).
History
A Franciscan convent stood on the peninsula from the 13th century. At the end of the 18th century Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini turned it into a retreat for literary pursuits and had the panoramic loggia that bears his name built. The villa later passed to the Porro Lambertenghi, the Arconati Visconti, Marie Peyrat and the American general Butler Ames.
In 1974 it was bought by Guido Monzino, an entrepreneur, collector and explorer: according to the FAI, the first Italian to reach the summit of Everest. On his death, in 1988, Monzino left the villa to the FAI.
What to see
- The Loggia Durini, open to the lake on both sides, with the music room and the mountaineering and geography library.
- The 18th-century French furnishings and the non-European art.
- The Museum of the Expeditions, in the attic: flags, ethnographic objects, a sledge from a 1971 North Pole expedition and the largest collection of Inuit ivories outside Greenland.
- The garden, with the umbrella-shaped topiary of the holm oaks and the panoramic terraces over the lake.
Visiting
The villa is open from mid-March to mid-November. For opening days, times and how to reach it (by boat from the Lido di Lenno or on foot from Lenno) it is best to check the FAI website, fondoambiente.it. The address is Via Guido Monzino 1.
Along the Greenway
The Lavedo peninsula is reached from the Greenway del Lago di Como at Lenno, a hamlet of Tremezzina. The next stretch of the route, towards Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta, is the most demanding of the itinerary.