Della Torre Excelsior

Until recently, this noble apartment, of villa size proportions, in the historic Palazzo of Mastena (C.1629), was home to members of the powerful Della Torre family, an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th-14th centuries, and whose coat of arms (castle topped by an imperial eagle) is displayed above the entrance to a small community, occupied mostly of relatives and heirs of the old family. The original owner of the building was an important member of the family, Francesco Della Torre. He is attributed to the volume of history of the mountain robbers of Rezzonico, which tells of the curious and daring feats performed by a band of rebels “The Catholic Army” in the late eighteenth century. Local legend more describes them as “smugglers”. In contrast, Carlo Della Torre of Rezzonico became Pope Clement X111 (1758-1769). Once inside this unique home you will appreciate marble and parquetry flooring, light filled spacious rooms with high ceilings, timber beams, “French doors opening onto wrought iron juliet balconies to the east and a 30 m2 terrace to the south, all with captivating views of Lake Como’s eastern shore down to Bellagio and the fork of the lake beyond. The ever changing scenery of lake and mountain views makes this apartment a home for all seasons. The master bedroom has four “sopra porte” of elegant eighteenth century paintings in the style of Rapous (1728-1789) which enrich and reinforce the history of a romantic and lavish bygone era. There are two further bedrooms and three bathrooms. A new kitchen has been created using Miele appliances and marble counter tops and positioned to capture the uninterrupted views and flows onto the upper terrace for alfresco dining. Whilst the apartment has been meticulously renovated, it retains a strong sense of authenticity of the period.The delightful private garden is well planted with new and mature camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, wisteria, gardenias and roses with hundreds of bulbs scattered throughout providing beautiful colours throughout spring. There is also an “avenue” of crepe myrtle trees, magnolias and a lavender hedge complementing the roses during the summer months. Included into the price there is also a garage, a storage-workshop and cantina space of 70 mq which was used to host the wine press until few years ago