The Beauty of Villa Monastero on Lake Como

This shows the grounds of the Villa Monastero, looking towards Varenna. The building on the left is Villa Cipressi, which is now a hotel. The Varenna church tower is just to the right of it. The entrance to the Villa Monastero gardens is the building on the hillside in the center of the photo.
The gardens have delightful architectural features, in addition to the trees, plants and flowers. The villa began as a monastery in 1208. It was no longer used as a monastery and sold in 1569. It was in private ownership over the centuries and is now a conference center. Nobel Laureate physicist Enrico Fermi used the villa for conferences.
If you compare this photo with the top photo you can see how extensive the gardens are. This gazebo is at the far end of the gardens looking back to the same entrance shown in the first photo.
The garden paths along Lake Como provide moments of relaxation and reflection.
The iron work on the railings are silhouetted against magical Lake Como, one of our favorite places.
This is the fixture above the walk-in bathtub in the Villa bathroom. The villa is open for public visitors, except when the meeting rooms are being used for conferences. This bathroom fixture was added in the period of 1897 - 1912. The heating elements were made in Germany. It was called the "King Faruk Bathroom" because it had what they considered to be Oriental decorative touches.

The gardens are accented by neoclassical statuary and architecture. We were there last summer on a day that was overcast and hazy. But Dave and I think that there is no such thing as a bad day on Lake Como. On clear days, the lakes, gardens and mountains are glorious. On cloudy or hazy days, the mood is mystical. On rainy days, well, the rain is needed to keep the countryside green and the gardens blooming. It is no wonder that we have a painting of the loggia, gardens and mansion of Villa Monastero hanging above a window of our home in Arizona.