Villa del Balbianello in Lenno

Villa del Balbianello, a jewel on Lake Como between history and cinema

On Lake Como, in Lenno, stands Villa del Balbianello, one of the best-known sites in the Lario area. As fondoambiente.it, siviaggia.it, paesionline.it, myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com all agree, the villa is now owned by FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano.

Origins and history

According to siviaggia.it, paesionline.it, myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com, the villa was commissioned by Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini and built at the end of the eighteenth century, with paesionline.it and bellagiolakecomo.com dating its construction to 1787. The same sources agree that it was built on the site of a former, abandoned Franciscan convent.

After Durini's death, report siviaggia.it, paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it, the property passed to his nephew Luigi Porro Lambertenghi, for whom Silvio Pellico worked as tutor to his children, becoming a regular presence at the villa.

On a later transfer of ownership the sources diverge: siviaggia.it and myscratchmap.it claim the villa subsequently passed to Giuseppe Arconati Visconti, who is said to have hosted figures such as Manzoni, Berchet and Giusti there — a version contradicted by bellagiolakecomo.com. Siviaggia.it and myscratchmap.it add that, after the decline of the Arconati Visconti family, the villa was abandoned and was bought in 1919 by American officer Butler Ames.

Guido Monzino's arrival and the link with FAI

A central figure in the villa's recent history is Guido Monzino, who, according to siviaggia.it, paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it, was behind the donation to FAI, which has owned the property since 1988. Sources disagree on the date of Monzino's purchase: siviaggia.it and myscratchmap.it give 1974, while bellagiolakecomo.com contradicts this version.

Monzino, recall siviaggia.it and myscratchmap.it, organized the first Italian expedition to Everest, becoming the first Italian to reach the summit. Inside the villa, according to siviaggia.it, paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it, the Museum of Expeditions has been set up, displaying memorabilia, maps, books and travel equipment that belonged to Monzino. Only myscratchmap.it adds details not confirmed elsewhere, such as reaching the 90th parallel at the North Pole in 1971, the 1957-58 expedition to Cerro Paine Grande in Patagonia (today named, according to this source, Torre Monzino), Monzino's death on 11 October 1988, his father Franco Monzino's role as founder of the Standa department store chain, the existence of a library of more than 4,000 volumes, and the presence of his tomb in the garden's old icehouse.

Film set and garden

The garden and villa have been used as filming locations, including for Casino Royale from the 007 saga and films from the Star Wars saga, as reported by siviaggia.it, paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it. Only siviaggia.it also mentions filming for "Piccolo Mondo Antico" and "La Certosa di Parma," while myscratchmap.it is the only source to specifically cite the kiss scene between Padmé and Anakin in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones."

The garden, described by paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it, features umbrella-pruned plane trees, wisteria, boxwood hedges and centuries-old holm oaks. Also according to siviaggia.it and myscratchmap.it, the Loggia Durini stands out for its inlaid compass rose and its Ficus Repens covering.

Visitor information

All five sources agree that admission is free for FAI members with prior booking, and that the interiors can only be visited on a guided tour. Fondoambiente.it, paesionline.it, myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com list regular opening hours from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., while myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com specify that the site is closed weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays, unless these fall on public holidays.

Sources diverge significantly on ticket prices: fondoambiente.it and paesionline.it list a full-price ticket of 25 euros for the Villa and Park with a guide, 15 euros for the Park only, and a reduced FAI-member rate of 5 euros for Villa and Park; these figures are contradicted, for the first price, by siviaggia.it, myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com, and, for the other two, by myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com.

There are also discrepancies over organizational details: fondoambiente.it describes a guided tour of the interiors lasting about 50 minutes, contradicted by myscratchmap.it and bellagiolakecomo.com, and groups of up to 16 people, a detail not confirmed by myscratchmap.it. Fondoambiente.it, paesionline.it and bellagiolakecomo.com finally state that the last entry to the Park is at 5:00 p.m. and the last guided tour of the Villa at 4:00 p.m., a detail not confirmed by myscratchmap.it.

Only fondoambiente.it specifies the rules for animals — allowed on a leash in the garden, while inside the buildings only guide or assistance dogs are permitted — and describes a lift providing wheelchair access to 3 of the villa's 6 levels, which are said to comprise the Villa, the Loggia Durini, the Loggia Segrè and the Dosso di Lavedo.

How to get there

To reach the villa, fondoambiente.it, siviaggia.it, paesionline.it and myscratchmap.it mention the option of taking a water taxi from Lido di Lenno, while fondoambiente.it, siviaggia.it and paesionline.it also mention the SPT C10 bus line from Como and the Trenord train to Como Lago station. The same three sources note that the villa cannot be reached directly by car: visitors must park at the Parcheggio Mercato di Tremezzina, on via Comoedia, and continue on foot or by water taxi.

Fondoambiente.it and paesionline.it also mention an alternative 2.5-km trekking route, which takes about 45 minutes to walk. Accounts of the walking route from Lenno differ: fondoambiente.it and siviaggia.it describe roughly one kilometer uphill, taking about 25 minutes, a detail contradicted by myscratchmap.it. Only bellagiolakecomo.com gives the cost of the shuttle from Lido di Lenno — 8 euros round trip or 6 euros one way — while myscratchmap.it is the only source to trace the name "Balbianello" back to the similarly named Villa Balbiano, located in Ossuccio.