Villa Rezzola, Manor house in Lerici, Italy

Villa Rezzola sits on terraced land that slopes toward the sea, offering views across the Gulf of Poets. The main building was constructed in the 18th century, built atop remains from medieval military structures, and received major changes throughout the following centuries.

Construction began in the 18th century, built over the foundations of medieval defensive structures. Substantial changes were made throughout the 1800s and 1900s that shaped how the property appears today.

The property was known as Villa Botti in the 18th century and as Villa Cochrane after 1900, when the British couple William Percy and Helen Lavinia Cochrane bought it. Helen, a trained painter, made many watercolours and drawings of the villa and its surroundings. The Cochranes funded public works in Pugliola, including a paved road and a two-storey kindergarten with a dining hall.

The villa is currently closed for major restoration work on the buildings and the gardens surrounding it. Before planning a visit, check the current status to see when it might reopen to the public.

The property was listed among Italy's protected landscape assets in 1951. Between 1913 and 1914, D. H. Lawrence and Frieda von Richthofen, living nearby in Fiascherino, visited the Cochranes here regularly; Marie Curie was a guest in 1916.