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On
the "Simplon" road, just after the bridge over the Selva Spessa torrent, at Baveno, are the impressive wrought iron gates of
Villa Fedora. The villa passed through a number of owners after its construction  in 1857 by
Giacinto Mannati from Torino who then sold it to the Ceretti family. It was then bought by the hotelier
Giuseppe Spatz who enlarged it and then gave it to his son-in-law, Umberto Giordano (Foggia 1867-Milano 1948)
the well-known composer. He lived there from 1904 to 1924 and wrote his famous opera "Fedora"
there, hence the villa's name. When the Giordano family moved to Milan in 1924  the property was acquired
by the Polytechnic Institute of London. During World War II it was the scene of a tragic event which occurred in
September 1943. A Jewish refugee, E. Serman who, with his family, had found shelter in the villa was brutally
murdered there by the Germans. The villa later housed the "Opera Nazionale Maternità Infanzia" and today it
is the seat of the VCO (province) Chamber of Commerce. It is divided into two projecting wings and has over fifty rooms.
The most interesting facade looks towards the lake and is animated by a series of columns which form a portico
between the upper and lower floors and large windows with green shutters that contrast with the villa's ocher walls.
It is an attractive example of 19th-century residential architecture and is set in a beautiful English-style garden that
slopes down to the shores of the lake and a private dock. Full of oaks, camellias, mimosa, and azaleas the grounds
are open to the public in summer.
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