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The story of Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Lake Como
The history of villa serbelloni in bellagio goes back many centuries, exactly to the Roman period. The Latin naturalist and historian Plinius the Young owned two villas in the central area of Lake Como. He named Comoedia (Comedy) the one in Lenno, and Tragedia (Tragedy) the other one on the promontory of Bellagio. He chooses their names in accordance with the environment where they were set, as it appeared at that time 2,000 years ago. As a matter of facts, in those days the promontory of Bellagio was an ensemble of arsh rocky ravines covered with wild vegetation, a perfect scenario for a tragedy.
At the end of the Roman Empire, the strategic position of the promontory of Bellagio, facing north and dominating the two branches of the lake, became of great military importance. Nearby the ruins of Plinius' Villa, the Barbarian hordes coming down from north to invade Italy built a military stronghold. First came the Vandals, then the Goths who were followed by the Longobards. Each time, each tribe fought bloody wars for the possession of the stronghold, which consequently was destroyed and rebuilt several times. This lasted until, with the advent of the Longobards, who gave their name to the region and founded the Kingdom of Lombardy, the stronghold became a shelter for the Cavargnoni, a band of ferocious bloody robbers from Cavargna Valley.
Later, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan, the stronghold was destroyed in order to get rid of those bloody brigands.
Soon after, Ercole Sfondrati, who belonged to a local potent and rich family, had a tower rebuilt on the same very spot, to complete the complicated system of watchtowers for exchanging messages from top to bottom of the lake by means of mirrors and fires.
During Renaissance the Marquis Stanga bought the whole promontory of Bellagio from Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan and had a de-luxe villa built right where Plinio had his La Tragedia. Once again the villa was destroyed during the bloody wars fought on Lombard soil in the 15th and 16th century between French, Germans, Swiss and Spaniards for the succession to the Dukedom of Milan.
In 1788 Francesco Sfondrati, the new owner, had the villa rebuilt and later he sold it to the rich high middle class Serbelloni family, who is remembered because of Giuseppe Parini, a great Italian poet, who worked for them as a tutor for their children. In 1959 Villa Serbelloni became property of the Rockfeller Foundation, an international place for cultural seminaries and congresses.
How to visit Villa Serbelloni Bellagio Lake Como
The gardens of the Villa are open for guided tours only at Booking and tickets at Bellagio Tourist Office.
