The villa haunted by war and winters, Lost on Lake Como

The forgotten military castle on Italy’s doorstep, nestled between grape-gone valleys and the Alps, trades legends with local mysteries, and frames a chilly war that is often omitted from the celebration. Lake Como became a front line in the constellation of conflicts that made up the Italian War of Independence of 1859. This villa, known as Palazzo Gallio, sits on the western bank, far from the lake’s usual bustle. Gravedona ed Uniti, where its gates open, lies an hour’s hike up the mountain from the nearest ferry stop, and in winter it sits under the snow.

The villa’s gardens were once formal, now brimming with camellias and a hint of history, but during the French and Spanish occupation it housed the injured soldiers of the war between Austria and Italy. Before that it was a loved palace built for a lover, in a quarrel between patrons. Now it is the seat for a community of local leaders, a beacon of its region. Yet the mystery lingers. Did you know an archbishop was buried here? Secrets protected by the villa’s remote beauty and its layers of history, that carved themselves into the hillside. Find them out, tread lightly and leave your own mystery.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons