12 May Villa Cipressi
VILLA CIPRESSI
BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND BOTANICS
◇ GARDEN ◇
1400/1800
CONSTRUCTION
Fam. SERPONTI
FOUNDATION
GARDEN
TO VISIT
BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN
ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAS AND GARDENS IN LARIO AREA
The magnificent complex of buildings and gardens, created and built between 1400 and 1800, today represents a perfect and harmonious combination of ancient and modern functionality, made possible by a careful restoration by the R Collection Hotels Group which has seen the pre-existing architectural lines maintained.
Originally part of the Serponti family’s heritage, the structure subsequently passed into the hands of various prestigious personalities, such as Baron Isimbardi, who at the beginning of the nineteenth century set up a laboratory of the Milan Mint, of which he was Director; the Andreossi family, Sir Sulton, the English Astley and, finally, the Accame family. In 1980 it was purchased by the inhabitants of Varenna, through a public and voluntary subscription, to be destined for public use.
Currently owned by the Municipality of Varenna, it is now used as a renowned hotel/restaurant – convention centre. Municipal seat for civil weddings, every year it hosts dozens of weddings of couples from all over the world.
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
The botanical garden of Villa Cipressi, open to the public and included in the Grandi Giardini Italiani circuit, is an architectural masterpiece characterized by stairways and terraces sloping down to the lake; there are numerous plant species present, including, for example, the American agave, which here spontaneously blooms, the araucaria, the strawberry tree (or Patriotic plant), the myrtle, the tamarisk, the cypress. Numerous collections of seasonal species.
