Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Italy / Torno / Villa Pliniana
Villa Pliniana
Torno, Italy · Il Sereno / Le Sereno · High Luxury
This Renaissance villa on Lake Como takes its name from an intermittent spring that Pliny the Elder described in the first century AD and that Leonardo da Vinci puzzled over in his own notebooks centuries later. Count Giovanni Anguissola built it between 1573 and 1577, Rossini reportedly composed Tancredi here in 1813, and later visitors included Byron, Napoleon, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The Ottolenghi family, owners since 1983, restored it from 2013 to 2015 and reopened it in 2016 as an exclusive-use retreat with interiors by Patricia Urquiola, sister property to Il Sereno down the lake.
- 19 rooms
- Opened 2016
- Neighborhood: Piazzaga
- Architect: Giovanni Antonio Piotti (attributed)
- Interiors: Patricia Urquiola
About Villa Pliniana
- The Renaissance villa was built between 1573 and 1577 for Count Giovanni Anguissola, taking its name from a spring described by Pliny the Elder.
- Lord Byron, Napoleon, and Rossini all visited; Rossini is said to have composed Tancredi there in 1813.
- Leonardo da Vinci described the villa's mysterious intermittent spring in his own notebooks, long before the villa took its name from Pliny the Elder's account of the same source.
- The Ottolenghi family has owned it since 1983, and after a 2013-2015 restoration it opened on May 1, 2016 as an exclusive-use Sereno Hotels retreat with interiors by Patricia Urquiola.
History
Count Giovanni Anguissola built this Renaissance villa on Lake Como at Torno between 1573 and 1577, a design attributed to Giovanni Antonio Piotti. It takes its name from an intermittent spring Pliny the Elder described in the first century; Leonardo later puzzled over the same water in his notebooks. Rossini is said to have composed Tancredi here in 1813. Byron, Napoleon, and Percy Bysshe Shelley came through later.
The Ottolenghi family has owned it since 1983. They restored it from 2013 to 2015. On 1 May 2016 it opened as an exclusive-use Sereno retreat, interiors by Patricia Urquiola, sister to Il Sereno down the lake: 19 bedrooms, four apartments, and three standalone villas on some 18 acres.
The spring still pulses. The villa still faces the water Pliny wrote down.
Amenities
- Lush gardens
- Views of Lake Como and balance of water and forest
- Full staff for entire stay, from setup to clean up
- Professionally trained waiters, chefs and support staff
- Strategic logistics; proximity to Milan main airports (as printed)
Open Villa Pliniana in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More Il Sereno / Le Sereno hotels
More hotels in Torno
- Il Sereno — Il Sereno / Le Sereno · Grand Luxury
- Hotel Lago — Independent · Accessible Luxury
Il Sereno / Le Sereno in The Maison: the brand's idea, history and every house on the atlas.