VILLA DUCALE
(STRESA)

It was built in the vicinity of the old town centre by the Bolongaro family who were originally from Stresa. It is known that the villa existed in 1771 and that Giacomo Filippo Bolongaro made continual improvements on the building until his death in 1780. Today it overlooks the attractive lakefront, since the Simplon Road, built in Napoleon's time, cut through the property and separated the garden from the lakeshore. The villa is based on a rectangular plan and rises above a basement floor decorated with elegant balustrades which functions as a terrace. The mezzanine is characterized by a portico with three arches, which, together with the stucco-decorated windows reflects a style typical of the Lombard school. The outside double-ramped curved staircase is 18th-century and is supported by pilasters with a rococo wrought iron railing. In 1848 the property passed from the Bolongaro family to the famous philosopher Antonio Rosmini who spent the last years of his life here in the company of such illustrious personalities as Alessandro Manzoni, Ruggero Bonghi and Niccolò Tommaseo. At Rosmini's death in 1857 the villa was sold to the Duchess of Genova (Princess Elizabeth of Saxony) who owned it for the next fifty years and considered it to be the perfect country residence. The villa, by now familiarly known as "Ducale", then went through a particularly brilliant period and became a favorite destination of European nobility. At the same time its interior was embellished thanks to work done by the architect Pietro Bottini who was involved in numerous construction projects in the area. The gardens also underwent a transformation with the planting of new and precious botanical varieties. Elizabeth's private chambers, located on the mezzanine and decorated with frescoes depicting flowers and plants, can still be seen today. The villa's original wooden floors were substituted with mosaic floors as well during those years. After the Duchess's death the family sold the villa and it went through a number of different owners until passing into the hands of the Padri Rosminiani in 1942. After the war Villa Ducale was completely restored and in place of the mansard, built in the 1800's and destroyed by fire, a fourth storey, thought by many to be out of proportion to the rest of the building, was added. Today the villa houses the International Centre for Rosminian Studies and includes a museum dedicated to the philosopher and a well-stocked library with over one hundred thousand volumes on the first floor. The gardens, which were originally Italian in style, are rich in both exotic and native varieties. Among the most noteworthy are an impressive camphor tree and a great cedar of Lebanon facing the lake that was planted in 1860.

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