Villa Olmo

Villa Olmo is a neoclassical lakeside villa in Como, in northern Italy. Marquis Innocenzo Odescalchi commissioned the Swiss architect Simone Cantoni to design it as a summer retreat in 1782, though construction did not begin until 1797 and was not completed until 1812. The estate is known for its ornamental gardens, which hold roughly 800 varieties of trees and take their name from an elm tree that once stood at their center and no longer survives. The municipality of Como bought the villa in 1924; today the lakeside gardens are open to the public during the day, while the interior is accessible only during exhibitions.