VILLA SAN REMIGIO
(VERBANIA)

It sits atop the highest point of the Castagnola promontory and is bordered on the south by the little 12th-century Romanesque church of San Remigio and to the north by the Villa Taranto Botanical Gardens. Set in beautiful grounds, it was conceived with the idea of fusing architecture and nature which reflected the ideals and the aspirations of its owners, the Irish painter Sofia Browne and the Neapolitan poet and musician Silvio Della Valle di Casanova. The couple, influenced by Romantic trends popular at the end of the century, wanted to re-create the atmosphere of the great Italian Renaissance and baroque villas of the past. A chalet which was originally built on the site by the Browne family in 1863 was transformed and enlarged in the years 1903-1905 with the result being the impressive villa that can be seen today. The edifice has an articulated plan with the main hall located in the central part of the villa and flights of steps on both sides of the building lead up to the entrances. The most important rooms are the arms room and the music room. There is also a Gothic room and a study devoted to the classics. Valuable furnishings and fittings, some added recently, include decorative door frames, cornices, fireplaces and wooden ceilings. The facade is Lombard baroque in style as can be seen in the prominent cornice and the windows crowned with triangular and curved gables. Wrapping around the northeast and southeast sides of the villa is a balcony from which incomparable views of the lake can be enjoyed. Underneath the balcony a gallery with portico carved out of rock serves as a winter garden. Among the other buildings located on the grounds of the San Remigio complex it is worth mentioning the "art studio" built in 1896 in a vaguely medieval style, the stables, the mock 18th-century gatehouse and the family chapel built in 1898 on an outcrop of rock overlooking the lake. Famous guests have included Gabriele D'Annunzio and the Futurist artist Umberto Boccioni, whose last paintings were of Lake Maggiore.

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