Villas and gardens

Landscapes of incomparable beauty and a monumental heritage made of high-profile villas, rich in enchanting gardens of great botanical interest.

A journey into the beauty of a land where the refining of culture and the architectural development gifted us with many places to admire for their artistic heritage embedded in the green of secular parks.

Dating back to the second half of the Eighteenth century, Palazzo Estense was acquired in 1766 by Francesco III d’Este to accommodate his own court. Today it is the headquarter of the City Hall, and its marvelous background is one of the most interesting Eighteenth century gardens in the whole Lombardy, a green oasis in the very center of the city inspired by the model of the Viennese Schönbrunn Imperial Residence. In the “Garden City” it is also possible to admire Ville Ponti, a complex of three structures attaining different styles and periods, immersed in an English-style park full of luxuriant flora.

Since the decade of the Sixties, Ville Ponti is property of the Chamber of Commerce of Varese, which made it a congress center among the most fascinating in Europe. Hill Biumo Inferiore also hosts Villa Menafoglio-Litta-Panza, with its contemporary art collection that recalls fans from the entire world. Among the most prestigious dwellings in the city, we also find Villa Recalcati, whose garden unifies traits of Romanticism with French-style Classicism, and Villa Toeplitz, built in the beginning of the Twentieth century with its fountains interconnected by symmetric stairways giving magnificent examples of water games.

About the surroundings, it is at least necessary to invite tourists to visit Villa Cicogna Mozzoni in Bisuschio, an elegant dwelling finely decorated with precious frescoes, and Villa Della Porta Bozzolo in Casalzuigno, with its four terraces interconnected by a majestic stairway and a vast slope named “the theatre” enclosed by a fountain.