A Unique Home on Lake Como, Italy
Griante, Lombardy, Italy
5 bed/4 bath
Price on Request
A part of the villa is a grand greenhouse with an elegant Art Nouveau iron and glass structure created based on the award-winning model at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. It was built in 1901, and from 1985 to 1990, it underwent a complete renovation, transforming it into habitation in accordance with the authorization by the Superintendency for Cultural and Artistic Heritage.
The park of Villa Maria, co-owned by the property, is more than three hectares and borders on the lake. In addition to the numerous paths among the centuries-old trees, there is also a 20 m swimming pool and a tennis court, as well as a boccia court. Villa Maria was commissioned by the American Martin Clerc and later completed by his heir Josephine May. It was designed by the famous engineer Giacomo Mantegazza from Menaggio and built between 1889 and 1892. The villa in Lombard Mannerism style is situated in a large park with centuries-old trees. Ludovico Pogliaghi, a famous Italian sculptor and scenographer, oversaw all the decorations inside the villa and in the park. At the end of the 1930s, the property was acquired by the Swiss Schmidt family, and later on, the villa was divided into prestigious apartments. The villa is characterized by a central body with three-arched loggias on two levels and is also famous thanks to the impressive greenhouse with a thin and elegant iron and glass structure in Art Nouveau style.
