Milan, Lombardy, and the Lakes Sights

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Villa d'Este

Villa d'Este Review

Built on the site of a former nunnery, Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio's summer residence, Villa d'Este, has had a colorful and somewhat checkered history since its completion in 1568, swinging wildly between extremes of grandeur and dereliction. Its tenants have included the Jesuits, two generals, a ballerina, Caroline of Brunswick—the disgraced and estranged wife of the future king of England, George IV—a family of ordinary Italian nobles, and, finally, a czarina of Russia. Its life as a private summer residence ended in 1873, when it was turned into the fashionable hotel it has remained ever since.

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