VILLA DEL BALBIANELLO
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Villa with a museum, gathering the art collections and travel souvenirs of Guido Monzino.
On the promontory of Lenno stands the splendid Villa del Balbianello, built at the end of the 18th century. It is no coincidence that this spectacular villa was chosen to shoot some of the scenes of the latest Star Wars and Casino Royale. If we had to see only one of the villas on the lake, this is the one to choose, so much the beauty of its setting and the charm of its architecture and gardens touch our hearts. It was Cardinal Durini who ordered the construction of this complex composed of two residential buildings, a small dock and a small church, built on the remains of a Franciscan convent, of which only the façade of the church with its two bell towers remain. Today it is the property of the FAI, a private institution in charge of the safeguarding and promotion of many artistic sites in Italy. On the top floor of the house there is a strange museum that gathers the art collections and travel souvenirs of its last occupant, the Milanese entrepreneur and explorer Guido Monzino, a man of learning, passionate about extreme expeditions, who bequeathed the villa to the FAI in the 1980s. For the same reason, the loggia houses one of the most important libraries dedicated to mountaineering and polar expeditions. The complex is surrounded by a vast park that covers the small peninsula, terraced to the lake. Careful vegetation, antique statues... embellish these gardens that descend to the waters of the lake.
Pour les amoureux de Star Wars et de James Bond, plusieurs scenes y ont été tournées!!!