Villa del Balbianello is a grand villa with splendid terraced gardens overlooking Lake Como in Tremezzina. The villa is located at the tip of a small peninsula named Dosso d’Avedo on the western shore of Lake Como’s southwestern branch. It’s garden is included among the Grandi Giardini Italiani, a list of some of the most illustrious gardens in Italy and Malta.

Villa del Balbianello is open to the public and data from 2015 show that it received over 90,000 visitors that year, making it the most visited of all the 50+ properties maintained by the National Trust of Italy (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano).

The villa dan be rented for special event and Villa del Balbianello is a very popular wedding venue for those who can afford it.  The villa is also available for other types of events. Rumor has it that Daniel Graig rented it in 2007 for a private party after falling in love with the Villa during the shooting for Casino Royale.  It is also rumored that the IQ option, a broker of financial instruments, rents the villa for a yearly party to which they invite their top clients. (But we have been unable to find any conclusive evidence of this and consider it to be no more than rumor until the opposite is proven.

When the villa’s last private owner, the businessman and explorer Count Guido Monzino, died in 1988 he left the villa and most of the Dosso d’Avedo peninsula to Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano, together with an endowment to pay for maintenance. In 2016, the fund commenced a €400,000+ improvement project for the villa, including the jetty.

Villa del Balbianello or its surroundings have appeared in many different movies, such as:

• A Month by the Lake (1995)
• Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Casino Royale (2006)

Where in Italy is the villa?

Villa del Balbianello is located in Lenno, which in turn is a part of the comune Tremezzina in the Province of Como in Lombardy.

Lennos is situated roughly 60 km north of Milan and about 20 km northeast of the city of Como.

Lenno used to be its own comune, but in 2014 it merged with Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo to form the comune Tremezzina.

History of the Villa del Balbianello

• 13th Century

  Franciscan Monastery Founded

  A Franciscan monastery is erected on the tip of the Dosso d’Avedo peninsula overlooking Lake Como. Remnants of its two original bell towers (campanili) remain standing on the property today.

• 1785–1787

  Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini Converts the Site

  After being unable to purchase the nearby island of Isola Comacina, Cardinal Durini acquires the monastic property in 1785. In 1787, he transforms the complex into an exclusive summer retreat, constructing the iconic arched loggia framing two panoramic vistas of Lake Como.

• 1796

  Luigi Porro Lambertenghi Inherits the Estate

  Following Cardinal Durini’s death, his nephew, Italian patriot Luigi Porro Lambertenghi, takes ownership. The villa quickly becomes a secret meeting hub for Italian republicans and members of the Carbonari network advocating for Italian unification (Risorgimento).

• 1820

  Arrest of Silvio Pellico

  Writer and patriot Silvio Pellico—tutor to Lambertenghi’s sons—is arrested at the villa by Austrian authorities. Lambertenghi escapes into exile to Belgium with the aid of the Arconati Visconti family, eventually selling the estate to Count Giuseppe Arconati Visconti.

• 19th Century

  The Arconati Visconti Cultural Salon & Decline

  The Arconati Visconti family expands the gardens and embellishes the loggia, installing their family crest (a serpent swallowing a man) along the church balustrade. Prominent intellectuals and artists, including Alessandro Manzoni, Giovanni Berchet, and Arnold Böcklin, reside here. By the late 19th century, declining family fortunes leave the villa abandoned to the elements for over three decades.

• 1919

  Acquisition & Restoration by Butler Ames

  Having pursued the property since before World War I, American general and businessman Butler Ames successfully purchases the estate. He undertakes a major, meticulous restoration program across the buildings and terraced gardens, preserving the estate until his death in 1954.

• 1974

  Count Guido Monzino Takes Ownership

  The Ames heirs sell the villa to Italian entrepreneur, explorer, and mountaineer Count Guido Monzino (leader of the first Italian expedition to summit Mount Everest in 1973). Monzino refurbishes the interior with 18th- and 19th-century English and French antiques, boiseries, and artifacts from his polar and alpine journeys.

• 1978

  Secret Passageways & Enhanced Security

  Amid escalating kidnappings by the Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse) and the assassination of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro, Monzino reinforces the villa’s defenses, integrating a discreet network of hidden passages and escape routes throughout the property.

• 1988

  Bequest to the FAI (National Trust of Italy)

  Upon Count Monzino’s death in 1988, the villa and its vast collection are bequeathed to the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI). The trust preserves the estate and opens it to the public as a protected cultural monument and museum.

• 2000s–Present

  Cinematic Fame & Global Landmark

  The villa gains worldwide cinematic recognition as a major filming location, prominently featured in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) as the Lake Retreat on Naboo, and in the James Bond reboot Casino Royale (2006).