Type:

Luoghi della cultura; Oggetto fisico

Category:

Museums; Dwellings

Villa Carlotta is a museum and botanical garden along Como Lake located in a sunny and mild area. Thanks to the suitable location at the end of the XII century Marquise Giorgio Clerici decided to build a magnificent villa surrounded by a beautiful Italian-style garden with statues, stairs and fountains. The second owner was Gian Battista Sommariva, he acquired the villa at the beginning of XIX century and embellished it with masterpieces of Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen. The property has been given to Carlotta by her mother as a present in occasion of the marriage with George II, duke of Sachsen Meiningen. Keen about the botanic, he developed and increased the importance of the garden. Nowadays villa Carlotta is famous not only for its azaleas and rhododendron blossom, but also for the ancient collection of camellias, for the exotic and rare plants, monumental trees and flowers.