VILLA MONASTERO

Villa Monastero is a House Museum rich in testimonies left over time by its owners: four centuries of history, taste and style that overlap and merge to form a jewel on Lake Como.
The Mornico family built the mansion in the early 17th century, transforming an old Cistercian nun monastery founded in the late 12th century. In 1869, the mansion belonged to Carolina Maumari Blondel, granddaughter of Alessandro Manzoni, of whom traces remain in the painted ovals depicting The Betrothed in the Mornico drawing room.
In the 19th century, the Villa was always frequented by leading figures from the Italian and European cultural and artistic scene. In the 14 fully furnished rooms, visitors have the opportunity to live in the past, admiring the refinement of the decorations and furnishings, the richness of the materials and the variety of styles.
The Villa is surrounded by a Botanical Garden that stretches for almost 2 km along the lakefront, offering opportunities for recreation and learning thanks to the many rare native and exotic tree species.
In the Fermi Room there are two important paintings from the second half of the 18th century attributable to the Venetian area and the temporary deposit of an important painted panel from the Fondazione Comunitaria del Lecchese - Parrocchia S Michele in Nava di Colle Brianza, an unusual Eucharistic Allegory dating back to around the mid-1660s and attributable to the Venetian Cretan area.
In the entrance hall of the villa's staircase is a mock tapestry painting of the Chariot of Apollo and Aurora.