Villa Carlotta
Villa Carlotta is a villa in Northern Italy on Lake Como. It was built for the Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and extends over a 70,000 m2 (17 acres) area in Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden with steps, fountains and sculptures was laid out at the same time. Among the statues, Mars and Venus by Luigi Acquisti is remarkable.
The architect who designed the villa is unknown. It was completed in 1745 and remained in the hands of Marquis Clerici until 1795, when it passed by marriage to the banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva, who added a pediment and clock. In 1843, it was given as a wedding present by Princess Marianna to her daughter Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, after whom the villa is named.
The whole estate was owned by the princely House of Saxe-Meiningen, until the Italian State confiscated it after World War I (1927), arguing that the villa is of eminent national significance.
Coordinates: 45°59′11.00″N 9°13′51.30″E / 45.9863889°N 9.2309167°E
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