Just behind the hill of the promontory into the lake of Como, protected from the winds, the villa dominates the town's historic centre.

On the inside, elegant halls with vault and coffered ceilings follow one another accurately decorated in the style of the 17th and 18th centuries.

[1] Occasionally, the vegetation thins out at panoramic points which overlook the two branches of the lake, offering a prospect from the slopes of the hill, where the rose bushes flower during the season.

In 1959 it became the property of the Rockefeller Foundation of New York at the bequest of the American-born Princess of Thurn and Taxis (wife of Alessandro, 1st Duke of Castel Duino), who had bought it in 1930.

[2] In June 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stopped at the Villa after his helicopter landed in the grounds on a visit to Lake Como.