Villa del Balbianello - Bene FAI

The construction of the villa and the loggia dates from the end of the 18th century, when Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini acquired the promontory in order to build a secluded residence for use as a holiday home and a place where he could indulge his passion for literature.

After his death, the villa was inherited by the patriot Luigi Porro Lambertenghi, Durini's nephew, and then in 1919 it was purchased by the American General Butler Ames, who turned it into his vacation property; following his passing, his heirs sold the villa to the Milanese entrepreneur Guido Monzino. The highly attractive grounds of the villa are unique, with tree-lined boulevards, colourful flowerbeds and numerous places from which to take in the panoramic views of the lake. The grounds were designed in the late 18th century at the behest of Cardinal Durini. The landscaping operations were extremely challenging due to the awkward nature of the terrain: the building is located on a steep, rocky promontory, with very little cultivable land. The garden cannot easily be classified among the usual landscape styles: it is very much a one-off, mixing elements of Italian gardens with features usually found in English and French gardens. Two additional factors make the grounds particularly aesthetically impressive: the presence of creepers and the artistic umbrella pruning in the area in front of the villa and candelabra pruning in the loggia.

The most recent transformation of the garden dates from the mid 1970s, when Guido Monzino began restoration works geared towards restoring the appearance of the garden as it had been at the time of Cardinal Durini; with these operations, the garden was returned to the way it looked at the time it was first created, in the 18th century.