Villa Olmo is a neoclassical

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

located in the city of

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The villa was commissioned by Marquis Innocenzo

Odescalchi The House of Erba-Odescalchi () and the House of Odescalchi are branches of an Italian noble family formed by the union of the Erba and Odescalchi families. The Odescalchi family was, since the election of Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocent ...

to Swiss architect

Simone Cantoni Simone Cantoni (2 September 1739 – 3 March 1818) was a Swiss architect of the Neoclassical period, active mainly in Northern Italy. Among his many works are the Villa Olmo in Como, Villa Cigalini in Bornate, Villa Giovia in Brescia, Villa Ga ...

to have a summer retreat alongside the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in 1782. Works started in 1797 and were completed in 1812. The villa was named after an

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

tree, no longer alive today, planted in the middle of the ornate gardens. About 800 varieties of trees still grow here. The villa was acquired in 1924 by the municipality of Como and today is open to the public only during exhibitions, while the lakeside gardens are freely accessible during the daytime. Villa Olmo en Como.jpg, View of Villa Olmo from the garden View from Villa Olmo on a lake.jpg, View from Villa Olmo on the lake Villa Olmo built on the order of the Marquis of Odeskalka in 1812.jpg, Partial view of the garden 184ComoVillaOlmo.jpg, The villa seen from the lake 221ComoVillaOlmo.jpg, The villa and garden in July 2012 Como - Villa Olmo- Ceiling.jpg, Ceiling at the entrance

References

External links

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Villa Olmo - Alessandro Volta Scientific Association

Villa Olmo's Lido

Villa Olmo Exhibition Center
(Italian) Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Olmo Buildings and structures in Como Neoclassical villas in Lombardy Tourist attractions in Lombardy Gardens in Lombardy 19th-century architecture in Italy {{Italy-struct-stub