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Villa San Remigio is located on the Castagnola promontory, next to the Gardens of Villa Taranto, near Verbania, and along the Piedmont shores of Lake Maggiore – the view from there is absolutely spectacular. For its size, position and historical importance, it is one of the most remarkable villas in the area. It was built at the end of the XIX century to celebrate the union between the Marquis Silvio della Valle di Casanova, a poet and a musician, with Sophie Browne, a painter who wanted to build their own “dream garden” right there.
The villa features a Lombard Baroque style, with regular and curvilinear tympanums on the windows and side balconies built above a porticoed gallery made of rock (used as winter garden).

Inside, there is the armoury, the music room, the main hall, the Gothic room and the studio – evocative and valuable decorations and furnishings can be seen everywhere.
Around the villa, there are other buildings including the neo-Gothic art studio, the stables, the concierge, and, near the lake, a private chapel transformed into a modern and most peculiar residence which can be rented for short stays.

The villa is quite difficult to visit and appointments have to be made in advance. Since the 1960s, it has housed the administration offices of the Province of Verbania. Inside the villa, it is now possible to celebrate civil weddings.

Around the building, there are large terraced gardens open to the public in spring and summer, but always by appointment.

The gardens

The garden, recently restored after decades of neglect, was quite obviously inspired by the large botanical facility of Villa Taranto, bordering San Remigio.
It winds along 985 ft on the shore and is rich in centuries-old plants and flowers: its style cannot be traced back to the classic canons of architecture: it is, in fact, a mix of the eclectic taste of Anglo-Italian origin, the creativity and the personal touch of its two creators. The result is, therefore, one of its kind peculiar and most remarkable creation.

The forest and the orchard are blended in perfect harmony. Not to mention the “Garden of Hours”, the “Garden of Letizia”, a tribute to happiness, the “Garden of Sadness”, which represents melancholy, the “Garden of Memories”, a symbol of nostalgia, the “Garden of Sighs”, where the soul blends with the surrounding environment, the Hortus Conclusu , with a Romanesque church overlooking the lake, and the water lily pond.
In the gardens, there are also several valuable statues, decorations and ornaments.

Beyond the gardens, there are extensive lawn areas, surrounded by majestic exotic plants, and a wood; the latter, although preserved in its natural beauty, has been recently enriched with rare botanical specimens.

The small villa

Restored by the Frova and Nasini architecture firm in Milan and completed in 2009, it features an area of about 359 square yards, on two floors: one is reserved to the bedrooms, the other for the lounges and the living quarters. This floor has a private beach, a Jacuzzi tub, an external Finnish sauna and an internal steam bath; it is close to the water lily pond and the large XIX century circular seating area, where Marquise Sophie loved to spend time contemplating the lake.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)