Along the Vecchia Regina in Laglio, among the 19th-century villas overlooking this stretch of Lake Como’s western shore, stands one of the oldest residences in the village: recorded in local land registers since 1720, today known around the world as the Italian home of the actor George Clooney.
Historical reconstructions, based on land-registry and cartographic documents, trace a long succession of owners: in 1834 the Stoppani family consolidated the building with the surrounding land, work completed in 1868 by the Antongini family, while in 1877 the property passed to the Vitali family, who gave it a layout still largely preserved today. During the 20th century the villa was acquired by owners of American origin, the last of whom was the Heinz family, heirs of the founder of the food company of the same name. It was to the Heinz heirs, according to press reports, that George Clooney turned in the summer of 2001 after breaking down on his motorcycle in front of the villa’s gate: the following year, in 2002, the actor bought the property for a figure reported by the media at between 8 and 10 million (in euros or dollars, depending on the source), making it his summer residence.
In 2004 Clooney expanded the property by purchasing the neighbouring Villa Margherita, connected to Villa Oleandra by a raised pedestrian bridge spanning the road. That same year the municipality of Laglio granted him honorary citizenship, a gesture to which the actor responded with a letter of thanks to the village’s families and a donation supporting local social and school initiatives. Villa Oleandra remains a private residence, not open to visitors, but the now two-decade-long bond between Clooney and Laglio has made this corner of Lake Como one of its most recognised images around the world.