Villa Diodati, Manor estate in Cologny, Switzerland
Villa Diodati is a three-story mansion on a hillside near Lake Geneva, featuring white walls, large windows, and balanced architectural proportions. The building sits in a quiet residential setting elevated above the shoreline.
Lord Byron rented the villa in 1816, and during his stay Mary Shelley drafted the manuscript of Frankenstein. An unusually cold and rainy summer that year contributed to the creation of major Gothic literary works.
The villa connects to several literary figures, including Charles Diodati, a friend of John Milton whose family owned the property in the eighteenth century. This heritage shapes how visitors and scholars regard the place today.
The property remains a private residence with limited public access, though visitors can view the exterior from designated viewing areas near Lake Geneva. The location is accessible on foot via nearby walking paths that offer perspectives of the building and its surroundings.
The extreme weather of 1816, caused by volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, created the conditions for two major Gothic literature works to originate at this location. This meteorological coincidence links a global natural event directly to literary history.
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