Villa Giulia, Neoclassical villa on Lake Maggiore in Pallanza, Italy.
Villa Giulia is a neoclassical villa on the Lake Maggiore waterfront in Pallanza with stone facades extending across multiple levels and columns on each floor. An English-style garden connects the building to the lake, creating a natural transition from the architecture to the water's edge.
Bernardino Branca, inventor of Fernet liqueur, commissioned this lakeside residence in 1847 and named it after his daughter-in-law. The villa later became an important architectural landmark in Pallanza and eventually transformed into a center for cultural activity.
The villa serves as a research center for contemporary art and hosts regular exhibitions and concerts that attract visitors interested in modern creativity. You can experience the building as a meeting place where artistic conversations and cultural events take place throughout the year.
Access is through public gardens with direct entry to the villa, and a boat dock is available for visitors arriving by water. Plan time to walk through the gardens to fully experience the connection between the building and the lake.
An 1879 collapse led engineers to carve underground chambers into the rock beneath the villa to stabilize its foundation. These hidden structures reveal the technical challenges faced when building on a lakeside location.
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