Villa Carlotta is a villa in Northern Italy

Northern Italy

Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

 on Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

. It was built for the Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

ese marquis

Marquis

Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...

 Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and extends over a 70000 m² (17.3 acre) area in Tremezzo

Tremezzo

Tremezzo is a comune of some 1300 people in the Province of Como, in the Italian region Lombardy.It is located on the western shore of Lake Como between Mezzegra to the south-west and Griante to the north-east, and about 20 km from Como...

, facing the Bellagio

Bellagio

Bellagio is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located on Lake Como. It has long been famous for its setting at the intersection of the three branches of the Y-shaped lake, which is also known as Lario....

 peninsula. An Italian garden, with steps, fountains and sculptures was laid out at the same time. Among the statues, Mars and Venus by Luigi Acquisti

Luigi Acquisti

Luigi Acquisti was an Italian sculptor mainly known for his works in the neoclassical style.He was born in Forlì the 29 March 1747 and died in Bologna in 1823. His works are distributed throughout Italy...

 is remarkable.

History

The architect who designed the villa is unknown. It was completed in 1745, and remained in the hands of marquis Clerici until 1795, when it passed by marriage to the banker and Napoleonic politician Giambattista Sommariva, who added a pediment and clock. In 1843, it was given as a wedding present by Princess Marianna of Prussia to her daughter Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, after whom the villa is named.