Known today as Villa Santa Chiara, this sixteenth-century residence holds one of the most striking gardens in the Como highlands: monumental trees recognised as artistic and natural heritage, silent witnesses to more than four centuries of history.
The earliest records date back to 1614, but the villa’s origins reach into the sixteenth century, when the Odescalchi family made it one of their residences of representation. Over the centuries the building was remodelled in a Baroque key, gaining the grandeur that still sets it apart among the historic residences of Albese con Cassano today.
The large English-style park surrounding it is its most fascinating feature: century-old trees, cypress avenues and broad lawns form a romantic landscape well worth a walk for anyone visiting the village, even before discovering the main building. Converted into a care home, the villa has managed to preserve itself precisely thanks to this change of use, remaining a precious piece – together with Villa Greppi and Villa Parravicini – of the story of the great families who chose these hills as a refuge from city life.