This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Similar to an ancient crenellated castle, Villa Pergolana is on via Gardesana, on the lakeside of Lazise, surrounded by an English park. Its origins date back to the XV century. In 1500, the Municipality of Lazise entrusted the whole estate to the Franciscan friars who built a small convent and a church dedicated to Our Lady of Grace.
In 1856, Rosanna Cavazzocca bought it, and after a few years, turned the convent and the adjacent land, into a holiday residence.

Architect Giacomo Franco designed the new villa, preserving the church and transforming the cloister of the convent into the internal courtyard of the main building.

The church used to house two large canvases by Sante Prunati, depicting the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, as well as a wooden statue of the Virgin dating back to the 15th century, and many ex-votos on wood with life scenes of fishing and farming. Everything was unfortunately lost in the 1970s. The recent restoration saved what was left, in particular the fresco of the Assumption by Paolo Caliari the Younger, still visible on the ceiling.

The villa is surrounded by a park that slopes down to the lake, rich in plant species that offer ever-changing colours throughout the seasons.
La Pergolana is linked to the memory of Vittorio Cavazzocca Mazzanti, a true and eclectic scholar, who dedicated himself to the study and the discovery of the surrounding areas.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)