You come across it the way you come across a work of art in a museum: suddenly, in silence. Suspended along the path that climbs to the Faro Voltiano, Villa Pirotta Bonacossa is Brunate’s “little Versailles”, the most majestic of the Art Nouveau villas that dot the village above Como.
Designed in 1902 by architect Federico Frigerio, it stands high above the lake near the funicular stop, and is still inhabited today by the descendants of the chemist Alberto Bonacossa. Its curved lines and pastel tones blend with the light of the surrounding woods, in a dialogue between architecture and nature that few other buildings in the area can match.
If the exterior is breathtaking for its scenic position, the real treasure lies inside: the entrance staircase, with its spiralling decorations, was created by the artist and stage designer Lodovico Pogliaghi, the same figure behind major works at Milan Cathedral. The garden, rich in hidden grottoes, rare plants and raised paths, deliberately recalls the style of the gardens of Versailles, the source of the nickname by which the villa is still known throughout the village today.