A remarkable example of 18th-century Lombard Barocchetto style, Villa Arconati is located in Bollate, in the province of Milan. It is a national monument. 18th-century guides referred to it as “the Italian Little Versailles” due to its grandeur and wealth.
Villa Arconati
This Italian villa is part of the Groane Park, in the Castellazzo area of Bollate, not far from Milan. Galeazzo Arconati constructed this building as a place to enjoy his country holidays. He also intended it to house his precious collection of artworks and ancient sculptures. Villa Arconati covers an area of 108 square feet and includes 70 rooms. The villa has a total of 365 windows, one for each day of the year. Its park spans 30 acres and includes woods, heaths, and cultivated lands.
The History of Villa Arconati
The oldest parts of Villa Arconati date back to the Middle Ages. At that time, the site was known as Castellazzo. At least since the 14th century, there was a “villa franca” here, which referred to a fortified farmhouse that enjoyed tax exemptions. The presence of the actual villa dates to the second half of the 16th century. Marquis Guido Cusani, one of the major landowners in the area, owned the building.
Galeazzo Arconati purchased the villa in 1610. He was a cultured nobleman and feudal lord of the Pieve di Dairago. He was a cousin of the cardinal and archbishop of Milan, Federico Borromeo. A renowned collector, Arconati owned significant works, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus and a complete Roman statue today identified with a portrait of Tiberius.
Villa Arconati Interiors
Passionate about architecture, Galeazzo Arconati decided to completely restore the villa. Subsequently, Arconati constructed a single rectangular, two-story building featuring a staircase. He personally designed the extension of the building, adding the construction of a columned portico and the main floor.
In 1621, after a trip to Rome, Arconati had the idea to transform the villa into a new grand palace to celebrate the wealth and importance of his family. Moreover, he intended the villa to house and showcase his collection of artworks. Inspired by the architecture of the magnificent Roman and Florentine villas, he designed the new building and the garden as a single entity. He added tree-lined avenues, sculptures, and water features according to the models indicated by Leonardo da Vinci. In this period, the writer Carlo Torre, in his work “Portrait of Milan,” first defined the villa with the name “Castelazzo,” by which it is still known.
The work continues with successors.
In 1648, Galeazzo Arconati died. The work on Villa Arconati, not yet finished, continued thanks to his nephew and son-in-law, Count Luigi Maria Arconati. He sought to harmonize the existing structures with Galeazzo’s project. He renovated the rustic courtyards and the so-called “castellazzino,” the oldest part of the villa. Luigi Maria Arconati also purchased new lands nearby to expand the external surface of Villa Arconati.
Models from beyond the Alps, especially Versailles, inspired the new modernization works in 1742. The works on the west facade and the new south facade added the late Lombard Baroque style. Arconati transformed the Italian gardens into the French style. He also added a parterre in front of the new south facade and a ménagerie with exotic animals.
Visiting Villa Arconati: what to see
The villa boasted 70 rooms, located primarily in the noble section. On the first floor today, there is the Museum Hall with the Roman statue of Tiberius, once called Pompey the Great. The Museum Hall also includes a cabinet that houses the funerary monument of Gaston de Foix. The marble tomb is now at the Sforza Castle in Milan. The library housed the sheets of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus. The Ambrosiana Library received the precious codex as a donation in 1637.
Ascending the beautifully painted staircase of honor, you access the Noble Floor. This includes the ladies’ apartments and the Salone della Musica, also known as the “stucco gallery.” In the Salone delle Feste, you can admire the frescoes by the Galliari brothers, the main scenographers of the Ducal Theater of Milan. The splendid frescoes depict mythological scenes, embellished with magnificent trompe-l’œil.
Other Artworks
In its most splendid centuries, Villa Arconati was a concentration of artworks. But, previous owners have dismantled and lost this heritage. Villa Arconati displayed busts of Roman emperors and a statue of Venus from Galeazzo’s daughter’s boudoir. The collection included a plaster cast gallery with some casts of famous ancient masterpieces purchased by Arconati over the decades. Among them were the Borghese Gladiator, the Laocoon, the Hercules-Commodus, a dancing satyr, and Venus.
The collection was later expanded with 38 casts of ornaments from Trajan’s Column in Rome. They originate from Primaticcio’s molds, which were requested by Francis I, King of France, for his castle at Fontainebleau. Villa Arconati still houses some masterpieces even today. Among them, we remember the large marble statue of “Pompeo Arconati,” about 10 feet, and the paintings on canvas by Carlo Cane and Lorenzo Comendich.
The Garden of Villa Arconati
Villa Arconati features a magnificent garden. Count Galeazzo personally designed it, and his heirs continued its final arrangement. The garden occupies 30 acres between meadows, flower beds, groves, and paths. Furthermore, the garden of Villa Arconati is part of the agricultural estate of a thousand hectares. Over time, the green area took on the typical 17th-century style with statues, niches, monumental theaters, water games, and ponds. An orangery, an aviary, and groups of statues appeared later.
From the 18th century, the garden of Villa Arconati featured French-style parterres, which were very rare in Italy at the time. They unequivocally recalled the style of the Palace of Versailles. The spectacle of the fountains and water features was suggestive. The “noria,” a horse-driven waterwheel, powered them. The water came from an underground aquifer and reached heights thanks to the “master game.”
The Andromeda or Opi Fountain
Among all the fountains in the garden of Villa Arconati, the first to receive water was the Andromeda, or “Opi fountain.” Today, the statue of the famous Greek heroine is no longer present. In its place appears a mermaid with breasts spouting water.
It would represent the Roman goddess Opi, a symbol of abundance. Moreover, a fresco depicting the story of Andromeda’s rescue by Perseus once graced the back part. Today, instead, there is a 19th-century fresco with floral motifs, fake architecture, and shells.
The Diana Fountain
The Diana Fountain is one of the largest fountains in the park of Villa Arconati. It is also the most intricate water feature in the park. This is why it was equipped with its own “noria” and a mill. This equipment also made it possible for guests to participate in floor water games.
The decision to depict Diana in the fountain statue relates to the theme of hunting, which was the most popular pastime among the aristocracy at the time.
The Four Seasons Fountain and the Dragon Staircase
The Four Seasons Fountain features a large basin and a pair of marble dolphins with intertwined tails. Hornbeam hedges, the statues of the four seasons, and the statues dedicated to the senses and their respective “moderating virtues” complete the scenic apparatus. All the statues are located within natural niches. The fountain’s monumentality earned it the nickname “Great Theater.”
The Dragon Staircase precedes and leads to the Four Seasons Fountain. The name of the staircase comes from the presence of two statues of winged monsters depicting a dragon. Once, water spouted from the dragons’ mouths. It then flowed into a series of successive and sloping basins. The steps display a decoration of white and black stones, a technique known as “rizzata”. This technique, which is typical of the Lombardy area, involves creating floors with polished river pebbles.
The Hunting Lodge
At the end of the garden of Villa Arconati was the hunting lodge. This was a characteristic feature of large, enclosed parks. Therefore, the building provided short breaks during the park’s hunting season. This structure first appeared in Castellazzo during the period of Galeazzo Arconati.
The lodge had frescoed rooms, an oratory, and cellars for provisions. However, the building appears to have vanished within the park by the 1820s.
Visiting Villa Arconati: Tickets
Villa Arconati and the monumental garden are open to visitors every Sunday, depending on the season of the year and on special event occasions.
Villa Arconati Tickets
- The entrance ticket for the self-guided tour allows access to all the villa and the Monumental Garden without a guide. The entrance is open every Sunday from 26 March to 10 December, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (from 31/10 to 3/12, it closes at 5 p.m.). Prices: full ticket €10.00; reduced ticket €7.00 (youths from 11 to 17 years old, people with disabilities, holders of the ticket for a special guided tour of the Garden of Villa Arconati). Children under 10 years old and the companions of individuals with disabilities receive free admission.
- The entrance ticket includes a guided tour. The ticket not only grants access to all internal and external environments, but also includes a guided tour lasting approximately 90 minutes. Same entrance times. The full ticket costs €16.00, while the reduced ticket costs €13.00. Children under 10 years old and the companions of individuals with disabilities receive free admission.
Visiting the garden during the week
You can purchase tickets for the exclusive guided tour of the Garden. The guided walk, which includes a garden tour, lasts approximately 60 minutes. The single ticket costs €8 and children up to 10 years old are free. Keeping this ticket entitles you to purchase the reduced on the public opening on Sundays. Inside Villa Arconati, there are the Caffè Goldoni, the Bookshop, and the Games Point.
How to get to Villa Arconati
How do I get to Villa Arconati Bollate? Villa Arconati is located in Castellazzo di Bollate on Via Fametta, about 13 miles from the center of Milan and its tourist attractions. The complex is located along the S.S. Varesina between Bollate, Garbagnate, and Arese.
Getting to Villa Arconati by car
Via Fametta, 1—Castellazzo di Bollate (MI)—ZIP code 20021. The first useful highway exit is Autostrada dei Laghi Fiera Milano, or Lainate.
Getting to Villa Arconati by train
Trenord’s Milan-Saronno line (S1-S3) stops at Bollate Nord or Garbagnate Groane. The station is about 2 km from the villa.
Where to park at Villa Arconati
To park at Villa Arconati Bollate, you can use the large, unguarded external parking lot.
Villa Arconati Gallery
Visiting Villa Arconati video
Villa Arconati map
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