Built on the hill of Cardina, above the city of Como, this villa was commissioned by the writer Carlo Pisani Dossi, and designed by architect Luigi Conconi in a landscape of exceptional environmental value. Carlo Dossi was fascinated by the extraordinary combination of the lake setting and the charming atmosphere created by its cypress trees, reminding him the paintings by Boklin, an artist that he particularly loved.
Its construction started in 1897 and was finished by 1910. The isolated building, majestic and asymmetrical, surrounded by towering trees dominates the lake and consists of three stories, takes full advantage of the different levels of the grounds. The entrance, opening out to the garden, is on the middle floor, while the guest quarters are on the upper floor, together with a large living room and a loggia. Entering the villa there is a large foyer and a big staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade designed by the famous artisan Alessandro Mazzucotelli. The underlying floor is the reception area, with its famous “portico of the friends,” whose columns are engraved with the names of various dissolute members of a well-known Milanese artistic circle (including Tranquillo Cremona, Giuseppe Grandi, Giuseppe Rovani, Giosuè Carducci). In the middle of the portico stands a pink marble “coppa dell’amicizia” (friendship bowl). From here, with its panoramic view of the city and the lake, one has direct access to both the dining room and the villa’s own cinema hall.