Wonder and Pleasure between Milan and Varese

Between the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, noble families sought peace and also beauty in the countryside, away from the cities.

This led to the creation of pleasure villas, historic homes surrounded by green, and designed to surprise and entertain their guests. The provinces of Milan and Varese are home to precious testimonies of this period, where every visit is a stroll through art, nature, and scenographic architecture. The early summer is the best time to visit: the gardens are flourishing and the water jets are back along the pathways.

From the water features at Villa Litta to the eastern-style fountains of Villa Toeplitz, the theatres and maze at Villa Arconati, and the artistic greenhouse at Villa Panzam, this outdoor itinerary offers unexpected views, hidden details and the pleasure of being amazed.

Villa Visconti Borromeo Litta (MI) — With its mosaics, statues, frescoes, fountains and water features, Villa Litta is the perfect example of the “pleasure villas” so popular in Lombardy between the 16th and 17th century, when it was built on the order of Count Pirro I Visconti Borromeo and designed by some of the best architects of the time. The result is breathtaking. The villa’s best-known feature is probably the Nymphaeum, which is one of the best examples of this type of architecture in the area, thanks to the grand embellishments and the effect of the water features, still working today, powered by the sophisticated plumbing designed by some of the era’s best fountain makers.
Read more

Villa e Parco Toeplitz — Villa Toeplitz is a beautiful villa of eclectic architecture located in the Varese district of Sant’Ambrogio, at the foot of the Italy’s Sacro Monte hill, with a series of chapels leading up to the brow of a hill to echo Calvary. The villa owes its name to banker Giuseppe Toeplitz, originally from Poland, who bought it in 1914, renovated and expanded it, making the gardens particularly impressive through the addition of water features, including a magnificent flight of steps in porphyry stone decorated with fountains and waterfalls. .
Read more

Villa Arconati (MI) — This villa’s incredible artistic, architectural and historic value is now getting a new lease on life thanks to a project aimed at turning the villa into a centre where people can enjoy and create art in the city of Milan. Located in the Parco delle Groane and widely considered the Italian Versailles, the villa had been abandoned for decades and its furnishings sold at auction in the 1980s before it became the headquarters of the Augusto Rancilio Foundation. The vast estate includes the villa, the village, the woods, the farmland and church of San Guglielmo.
Read more

Villa Della Porta Bozzolo (VA) — Villa Bozzolo, with its Rococo trompe-l’oeil, frescoed vaulted ceilings and walls and Baroque decor, is one of Lombardy’s best-known “pleasure villas”, extravagant country residences built for their owners’ entertainment and refreshment. The villa is built in the U shape typical of the time with an exquisite ceremonial central courtyard.
Read more

Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza (VA) — Built in the 18th century as the Marquis of Menafoglio’s “palace of delights”, the place where he held his parties and events, after changing owners a few times, the villa was bought in the 1950s by Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo, a man with a passion for contemporary art. From this point onwards Giuseppe Panza turned the villa into a veritable artistic hub, with renowned painters and sculptors coming and going, leaving their mark on the villa’s decor with masterpieces of environmental and conceptual art.
Read more

Pavia Photo Gallery

An area full of attractions and experiences to experience

Art & Culture

Castles Cremona

Crossroads of trade and area of strong agricultural production, the Cremonese territory has always been guarded by castles

Art & Culture

7 art capitals an hour away by train from Milan

Art & Culture

Spring in Varese

Varese: walks, picnics, secret beaches. In the spring, spend a day outdoors in the land of the lakes.

Art & Culture

Museums Milan

A list of museums that we recommend to visit, from paintings to statues, from technology to nature

Art & Culture

Welcome to Cremona!

Cremona is for everyone

Art & Culture

Franciacorta Itinerary

The ideal destination for those who love cultural tourism

Art & Culture

The Cloister of Voltorre

The monastic art of the Cloister of Voltorre

Art & Culture

Brianza Villas Itinerary

Art & Culture

Museums Monza

From the Treasure of the Cathedral to the MEMB, there are many museums where you can discover local history, art and culture

Art & Culture

Legends, rituals, and goliardic traditions at the University of Pavia

L'Università di Pavia è una delle più antiche d'Italia, con origini che risalgono all'825

Art & Culture

Seven castles in Lombardy

From Lake Garda to Valtellina by way of Milan. Among crenellated walls, towers and porticoed loggias

Art & Culture

10 Reasons to visit Vigevano

The ducal city that surprises!

Art & Culture

The Ghost of Manigunda

In Varese the legend of the ghost of Manigunda to the monastery

Art & Culture

Bergamo Città Bassa

Glimpses of ancient villages along the main communication routes between the upper city and the territory

Art & Culture

Between ancient memories and majestic landscapes

Cultural itinerary in lower Valtellina

Art & Culture

The Winter Songs

The legend of the coldest days in the year

Art & Culture

Lomello and its Christian buildings

Village of strategical importance since ancient times, here you can discover the great Romanesque Lombard architecture

Art & Culture

Podcast: "Elsewhere in Lombardy"

Boundless beauty

Art & Culture

Brescia in a weekend

From the Roman Brixia to the Opera Festival. Discover Brescia in 48 hours. A journey through time, between culture, passion and nightlife

Art & Culture