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This
late neo-classical edifice is located on the sloping shores above the lake between Belgirate and Stresa.
It was conceived and built by the Neapolitan statesman Ruggero Bonghi who in 1855 acquired a few plots
of land in the "sabbion grosso" area and built a small villa.
In 1856 he bought the neighboring property with outlying buildings known as "la Filippina" ,
and ended up with a considerable parcel of  land which was sold the following
year to the Duke of Valleombrosa who enlarged the  villa and used the other group of buildings as the
family residence. Later the surrounding land was cleared and a variety of trees and vegetation planted.
In 1862 the Duke of Valleombrosa ceded the entire property to the Marquis Ludovico Pallavicino of
Genova who enlarged the grounds and turned them into  an English-style garden with wide avenues linking
the villa to the upper gardens and the lower area  along the lakefront. He also made changes in the villa itself
with the result being the splendid three-story building that can be admired  today. The plan of the villa is perfectly symmetrical except for
two bow windows superimposed on the east wall while the veranda on the west side is a recent addition.
With its covered terraces adorned with decorated balustrades and statues the villa recalls Palladian architecture. 
Like most of the villas on the lake its rather solemn and austere facade has a terrace over the basement floor
from which a monumental  symmetrical flight of steps leads down to the garden below.
In 1954 the Marquise Pallavicino decided to transform this magnificent property into a zoological park which is open
to the public and attracts thousands of visitors every year: an area of about 20 hectares with avenues full of flowers,
secular trees and a beautiful botanical garden, and more then 40 animal species, Mammalia and
exotic birds.
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