Villa Serbelloni has a very ancient history; already owned by the Sfondrati family in 1533, it passed to Count Alessandro Serbelloni, who devoted himself body and soul to it. The exterior, spacious but with simple lines, was not changed; the interior was carefully decorated, from vaulted and coffered ceilings to paintings and objets d’art.
Duke Serbelloni, however, more than the villa was interested in the immense park, spending exorbitant sums, he had carriage tracks, avenues, paths built for an ‘extension of about 18 KM. The duke died in Bellagio, in 1826, the villa passed into the hands of his sons, Giovan Battista and Ferdinando, fell into gradual disuse after the latter’s death, and the heirs, starting in 1870 leased the property to Antonio Mella who made it an annex of the Albergo de la Grande Bretagne; finally in 1907 they sold it to a Swiss company that made it the Albergo Serbelloni. The hotel was bought by Princess Ella Walker who bequeathed it in 1959 to the Rockefeller Foundation.
Today Villa Serbelloni is used as a place for scholars to stay and meet. Numerous were the illustrious guests who stayed in the villa, we can remember when it was still owned by the Sfonderati: Emperor Maximilian I, Leonardo da Vinci, Lodovico il Moro, Bianca Sforza, Cardinal Borromeo. In the 19th century the array of guests is impressive: Pellico, Moroncelli, Emperor Francis I, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm, Umberto I; writers such as Manzoni, Grossi, Pindemonte.
the park of Villa Serbelloni extends over the steep promontory separating the two branches of the lake, where, according to tradition, Pliny the Younger owned a villa called Tragoedia.
The original layout of the villa dates back to the 1400s and was built at the behest of Marchesino Stanga, feudal lord of the place. In 1788 it passed to Count Alessandro Serbelloni, a member of one of the noblest and richest families in Lombardy, who devoted himself body and soul to it, concentrating especially on the construction of the immense outdoor park, where he had carriage tracks, avenues and paths built for a total length of about 18 km. Upon the count’s death, the villa passed from property to property and, afine 1800s, was converted into a hotel. The complex was later acquired by the American Ella Walker, Princess Della Torre and Tasso, who decided to live there again, later donating it upon her death to the Rockefeller Foundation. Today the villa is the site of conventions and study stays of the Foundation.
Open to the public are only the gardens, an evocative tangle of pathways surrounded by native and exotic vegetation and embellished with terraces, statues and artificial grottos.A leisurely walk to enjoy superb views of the Lake Como and Lecco branches while from the fortification on the promontory, views of the northern branch of the lake and the Pre-Alps.
