Villa Crespi, Moorish revival villa and luxury hotel near Lake Orta, Italy
Villa Crespi is a Moorish-style building on Lake Orta with a minaret tower, stucco work, and arches that recall the architecture of North Africa. The rooms display mosaics, wood carvings, and Middle Eastern ornaments on walls and ceilings.
The patron hired architect Angelo Colla in 1879 after seeing palaces and mosques in the Middle East during his business travels. The building later converted to a hotel and opened to guests from around the world.
The estate takes its name from the cotton merchant who commissioned it after his travels in the East brought him inspiration for this architecture in Piedmont. Today the property houses a restaurant that interprets regional recipes with modern techniques and draws guests from many countries.
The estate sits near Orta San Giulio and is about an hour and a half by car from Milan or Turin. It is best to plan a stay of at least two days to explore the surroundings and the lakeshore.
The minaret reaches a height of about 72 feet (22 meters) and offers a view over the lake and the surrounding mountains. From the top you can see San Giulio Island and the narrow lanes of the old town on the opposite shore.
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