TREMEZZO

When Gian Battista Sommariva, a great art collector, bought Villa Carlotta in the early 19th century, he greatly enriched its interior, especially with paintings and sculptures by major artists of the time.

He arranged some of the rooms specifically to highlight the beauty of the works on display, as in the case of the Palamedes Room, named after the magnificent sculpture by Antonio Canova depicting the young hero of Greek mythology, known to have clashed several times with Ulysses.

When the villa was given as a gift from the Princes of Prussia to their daughter Charlotte, her husband, George II of Saxony, renovated the mansion. He had additional décor created, such as the Hall of Views, which he had painted in a shade of red reminiscent of the villas found in Pompeii, and he brought in other works of art.

One of the most spectacular rooms is the Marble Hall with a frieze divided into ten panels, created by Berther Thorvaldsen, running along the four walls and depicting Alexander the Great's triumphal entry into Babylon. In the center of the room is a sculptural group with the gods Venus and Mars by Luigi Acquisti.

Among the most breathtaking sculptures, I would like to point out two works by the incomparable master Antonio Canova: the Muse Terpsichore, in the Hall of the Plaster Models and Penitent Magdalene in the striking Magdalene Room. There is also a splendid version of the sculptural group Cupid and Psyche, created by Canova's favorite pupil, Adamo Tadolini, to whom the master had donated the original plaster model, authorizing him to produce as many replicas as he wished. In the Cameos Room, on the other hand, you can admire some of the original statues of the spires of Milan Cathedral, kept here to prevent their erosion.

Among the pictorial masterpieces, the best known is The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet by Francesco Hayez from 1823, in the room named after the painter.

On the upper floor of the villa, you can visit the apartments, furnished with fine 19th-century furniture and abounding in prints, tapestries, furnishings, porcelains and the precious volumes of botany that belonged to the Duke of Saxony, preserved in his study.

Here’s an interesting fact: The Duke of Saxony had three wives. The first, Charlotte, who was his greatest love; the second, Feodore, who was his companion for 16 years before dying of scarlet fever, and finally, the former actress Ellen Franz. In Charlotte's Room you will find objects that belonged to all three consorts.