Lake Como Villas: Olmo

Villa Olmo is one of the most famous landmarks of the city of Como on Lake Como in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. The neoclassical building was erected at the end of the 18th century for the noble Odescalchi family, which has its roots in the Como area in the 14th century and later spread to the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even today, palaces of the family are preserved in Vienna and Budapest.

The elongated magnificent palace with neoclassical column layout in the central part is surrounded by a large garden and dominates the northwestern waterfront of the city. The main access is in the street Via per Cernobbio. According to information on the villa's website, the name is due to two centuries-old elm trees that were located here.

The centerpiece is the imposing entrance hall, decorated with ornate frescoes, which extends over two floors to the roof and is divided by circumferential galleries with ornate wrought iron railings.

The villa has been owned by the city of Como since the 1920s and is a venue for exhibitions and events of all kinds.

Along the promenade, both to the north and to the south, there are other villas worth seeing, including the Villa Saporiti. A visit is recommended and gives a good impression of why the region around Lake Como was a popular meeting place for the nobility from all over Europe in the 18th century.

Website Villa Olmo
Historic villas for sale in Italy

Arcade of the south side with a view of the lake