Villa Monastero

Around halfway along the eastern shore of Lake Como at Varenna, it is possible to visit Villa Monastero, a historic residence with its roots in an ancient Cistercian convent founded at the end of the 7th century. 

The history of Villa Monastero in Varenna spans a very long period of time: the villa’s current appearance, in fact, dates from the end of the nineteenth century and is the outcome of many interventions undertaken over nine centuries. 

The villa has witnessed a series of illustrious owners including the Mornico family of Valsassina, Carolina Maumari, the granddaughter of Alessandro Mazzoni’s wife Enrichetta Blondel, and the German, Walter Kees of Leipzig. Between 1897 and 1909, the latter restored the villa, giving it an eclectic appearance and expanding the garden, which today extends along the lakeside for almost two kilometres. 

In 1939, the Milanese owners De Marchi donated the villa to the State with the obligation of preserving it as a public asset. Today, the complex houses a Conference Centre that has been open since 1953, hosting cultural events of international significance, including summer courses conducted by the prestigious Italian School of Physics. 

In 2003, the Casa Museo was inaugurated in the monumental section dedicated to the preservation of the existing collections; the exhibition tour includes 14 rooms with their original decorations and furniture. 

The Botanical Garden of Villa Monastero

The Villa Monastero park is an important complex of great fascination in terms of nature and landscape: it extends along the lakeside on a narrow strip of land for around two kilometres, from Varenna to the nearby hamlet of Fiumelatte.

Like other late nineteenth-century gardens of Lake Como, it features rare plants and botanical novelties from around the world, with exotic specimens such as palms and citrus fruits. Thanks to painstaking enhancement works, the number of species has grown to more than 900 specimens, leading to regional recognition as a “Botanical Garden”. 

The park’s beauty is accentuated by architectural elements, statues and fountains that create a harmonious environment, where nature merges with art; moreover, the configuration of the land in terraces made it possible to create a series of different settings in the Garden, enriched with recurring elements, such as the rows of cypress trees along the Villa’s entrance avenue, the Lebanese cedars and the evergreen hedges. It is a unique, enchanting place with breathtaking views of the lake and a history that reverberates through the centuries, which makes every visit an unforgettable experience.