This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Lake Iseo originated thanks to thousands of years for erosion and the withdrawal of an alpine glacier.

To the north, the lake overlooks the perennially snowy mountains of the Adamello glacier, from which it is fed through the Oglio River; to the south, however, the landscape is more gentle and hilly.
It lays between the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, and it features the largest lake island in Europe: MonteIsola, a green jewel dotted with tiny villages and rare patrician villas.

To the north and south of MonteIsola, there are the two smaller islands of Loreto and S. Paolo.

The island of Loreto is located in the middle of Lake Iseo and it is privately owned. The nuns of Santa Chiara di Brescia purchased the island at the end of the XV century, and had a convent built there: the structure, however, was abandoned in 1580.

In the XIX century, the island became a property of Duchess Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa, the nit was purchased by Vincenzo Richeri, a Royal Navy Captain. In 1910, Richeri built a neo-Gothic castle on the island, and around it he created a garden full of conifers, a marina, and two light towers. The latter illuminate a cove with a path leading straight up to the villa.

This abode features a rectangular layout, with two floors. Thanks to its turret, battlements, and light stone walls, the villa appears quite spectacular and evocative. It actually stands on a rock overlooking the lake.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)