Villa Balbiano

Protected by a high wall, the elegant gardens of Villa del Balbiano can be glimpsed through the large gates on the street running between Ossuccio and Lenno.
This villa, protected an item of Envronmental Heritage, was built in mid-1500’s. Towards the end of the century, the property was given to Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio who commissioned a new building by the famous architect Pellegrino Tibaldi. The façade and the backside of the original edifice were later modified by Marco Gallio in 1637, who was also the creator of the villa’s magnificent Italian garden, the genuine pride of the property.
The simple and unpretentious front of the building faces the lake and is characteris ed by its grey stone decorations.
The villa is surrounded by the garden, embellished by the cardinal’s statues and fountains. Coming from the Regina road, a water lily garden blooming with blue iris leads to the entrance boulevard bordered with boxwood bushes, and by sycamore and cypress trees, a signature of the villa.
The park has also been enhanced with palm trees, wisteria and such unusual shrubs as the Olea Fragrans. Inside the villa one finds scenic baroque frescoes by the Recchi brothers, commissioned by Marco and Carlo Gallio in 1630, as well as walls painted by Torricelli.

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