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Villa Monastero its foundations go back to the 11th century. Just as its name tells us, in the origin it was a Monastery for Nuns, which was then transformed into a residential villa for rich people. The Monastery was built by the Nuns who were banished from Isola Comacina after the complete destruction of the powerful Parish of Isola in 1169. The convent belonged to the Cistercian Order and, consequently, to the Abby of Saint Mary in Olivedo, better known as Acquafredda, at upper Lenno.
The historian Joseffo Delle Torre Rezzonico thus describes it: “After having over passed the stony bed of the river Perlana, we are at Campo and very soon , through very well built and kept steps, we meet the monastery of the nuns: the building itself, with its protruding wings and its double façade, testify its complete magnificence and, by opening toward the lake below, it lessen to the religious women the burden of their seclusion. They stroll along beautiful gardens which they reach through an underground way and from the gardens, which border the shore, they see and talk to the people passing by with their boats. The Monastery is endowed with a rich income and with many rights, too. Thus is shown by its princely granary and its cellars worthy of a king, which were built very deep and with much work, to enter which it is necessary the light of candle, even in a sunny day, to dissipate the inner darkness. It is said that the monastery of Campo had its origin after the destruction of the Island, or rather, after the Island was pulled down to its foundation and the nuns had to move to the nearby shore, while before they lived in the monastery dedicated to the Saints Faustino and Giovita. Later, the archpriest of Saint Eufemia, Lanfranco, gave them the charge of taking care of the church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, as it is documented in the archives of the above said church. As they belonged to the Cistercian Order, they were spiritually assisted by the monks who, at that time, lived in the close-by convent of Saint Benedict (on the island). Once, also Campo belonged to the important villages, as the local history tells, but it was then set on fire and destroyed by the people of Como at war with the people of Isola in the year 1169…….. During the last century (17th century), the monastery had become famous by the Abbess Christina Maria Faggi, who descended from a family of poets”.
The monastery of Campo is documented since 1101, but it was suppressed by Emperor Joseph 2nd of Austria, son of the Great Empress Mary Theresa, as it was decided by the Pope’s bull dating May, 15th, 1786. The monastery was then sold and transformed into a private residential villa, but unfortunately, of the medieval building survive only some pieces of walls which had been included into the later building. Nowadays the villa is also a location for weddings in fairyland environment. You can see the villa only by boat.