GARDENS OF VILLA MELZI
Villa Melzi d’Eril was created as the summer residence of Francesco Melzi d’Eril, vice president of the Italian Republic founded by Napoleon in the early 1800s.
Located in Bellagio, this vast complex is one of the most popular attractions among tourists visiting the Pearl of Lake Como.
Because Villa Melzi is a private residence, you cannot enter the villa, but you will be able to visit its vast botanical garden (designed by architect Luigi Canonica and agronomist Luigi Villoresi), as well as the museum and the family chapel.
Experience a fascinating walk in the Villa Melzi gardens, and enjoy the perfect balance between architecture and natural beauty!
Discover Villa Melzi
In a nutshell
The Villa Melzi d’Eril complex includes the villa, the vast botanical garden and a museum that traces the history of the villa and the surrounding area through the centuries of its existence.
The villa was built in neoclassical style and houses valuable decorations by Antonio Canova, Andrea Appiani, Giovan Battista Comolli and Giuseppe Bossi. The gardens of Villa Melzi are preserved with great care by the family Gallarati Scotti, the current owners.
A long avenue of plane trees begins at the boat dock, and gardens of azaleas and gigantic rhododendrons surround the villa, enclosing small spaces such as the hidden cave or the artificial pond in Japanese style.
In the Orangery adjacent to the villa there is a small museum, which exhibits Napoleonic memorabilia, evidence of Duke Francesco Melzi d’Eril’s loyalty to Napoleon.
Villa Melzi’s gardens also have many exotic and rare plants that alternate with centuries-old trees, large hedges of camellias, and many other plant species.
This gives you the opportunity to take a walk through one of the most enchanting places around Lake Como.
Also not to be missed is the Arabian-style temple, where composer Franz Liszt is said to have made one of his most famous pieces, the Dante Symphony.
Opening times
Entry price
Official website
Guided tours
Contacts
Opening times
Open from the end of March to the end of October (please check on Google or on the official website).
Opening times: 10 am - 7 pm (last admission to visit the park is at 6:30 pm.).
Open all days.
Entry price
€8 (children under 12 free entrance)
Official website
Guided tours
The guided tour of the gardens, which also includes the family chapel and the new and Napoleonic Museum, lasts about 60-75 minutes and costs €60 up to 14 people. To book your tour please write to visite@giardinidivillamelzi.it.
Contacts
Address: Lungo Lario Manzoni, Bellagio
Phone: +39 333 487 7427
E-mail: info@giardinidivillamelzi.it
From Bellagio pier, the docking point for the Navigazione Lago di Como, the gardens of Villa Melzi are only a 15-minute walk away.
You can also reach Bellagio by bus from Como and from Lecco.
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Villa Melzi d’Eril was built between 1808 and 1815 by the architect Giocondo Albertolli for Francesco Melzi d’Eril.
Since its construction, the villa has hosted many notable people, such as the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I, along with his wife Maria Anna of Savoy.
Franz Liszt, composer and virtuoso pianist, was also a frequent visitor of the villa. Some say that it was there he wrote one of his most famous pieces, Dante Symphony, during his stay in the small Arabian style temple of the villa.
The splendid view of Lake Como and the beauty of the Villa Melzi gardens and monuments were beautifully described by writer Stendhal in his “Rome, Naples et Florence” diary, and were also evoked in his novel “La Chartreuse de Parme”.
The Melzi dynasty was followed by the Gallarati Scotti family, which still takes care of the villa and its gardens.
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