The jewel in Tremezzo's crown is Villa Carlotta; a magnificent
neoclassical palace built for the Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690
and set in a seventeen-acre lakeside estate. In the nineteenth
century the villa's last owner, Giambattista Sommariva, a wealthy
politician and art enthusiast, turned Villa Carlotta into a museum
to showcase his extensive collections. Among the many masterpieces
on display today are several marble statues by the celebrated
Venetian sculptor Antonio Canova, reliefs by Danish sculptor Bertel
Thordwalsen, paintings by Italy's foremost artist of Romanticism,
Francesco Hayez and works by a host of other Italian and European
masters, as well as period furniture and numerous antiquities from
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Whilst the house itself is undeniably spectacular, Villa
Carlotta's extensive gardens are incomparably beautiful. A blaze of
colour in the spring and summertime, the perfectly-tended,
landscaped and terraced gardens feature themed areas including a
dazzling section of multi-coloured Azaleas, an arboretum of pink,
white and red Rhododendrons some of which are centuries old, a
bamboo forest containing more than twenty-five individual species,
some of them rare, set beside streams, waterfalls and rock
arrangements, and a grotto filled with different ferns.
Wide and level pathways, and lifts between the terraces ensure
that Villa Carlotta's exquisite gardens are accessible to everyone,
whilst their elevated position overlooking the shore enables
visitors to enjoy some of Lake Como's very best views. To fully
explore and appreciate the beauty and diversity of the gardens
takes at least a couple of hours, but there are many picturesque
places to sit and admire the scenery and the gardens' own coffee
shop provides snacks and refreshments.