Villa Erba is a lakefront property in Cernobbio ensconced in an immense botanical park.

Owners, history, exterior & interior design

Originally a monastery, Villa Erba was bought by the Peluso family, who already owned the neighboring Villa d’Este. The ownership then passed to Luigi Erba, Carlo Erba’s brother and heir, one of the major pharmaceutical manufacturers of that period, who had a villa built to represent his family’s status and prestige. The project was entrusted to the two most popular architects of the moment: Angelo Savoldi and Giambattista Borsani. In those years, the Erba family hosted great artists, and in life the villa was culturally and socially intense. Inherited by her daughter Carla, who married in Cernobbio the Duke Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone, the Villa the summer holiday’s home of their son, the film director Luchino Visconti.

Today the villa, with its ancient frescoes, precious inlaid ceilings, and its mannerist-inspired rooms, is considered a jewel of late nineteenth-century architecture. Channeling ancient prestige and worldliness the ground level of Villa Erba is made up of a foyer and three separate adjacent rooms, usually used for pre-wedding lunches, wedding welcome dinners, and wedding receptions. Each room carries a distinctive atmosphere and can be customized with ad hoc settings. The first floor which was home to the Erba family’s bedrooms can host a bride’s preparations on a special request, while the Villa has a wardrobe and functional kitchens

Wedding ceremonies and wedding reception festivities, as well as some of the most glamorous parties, can be held alfresco. Villa Erba’s ivy-covered castle-like structure offers privacy, and music is guaranteed until late as neighboring properties stand far. The large terraces surrounding the villa come with truly stunning views, and the grounds offering multiple gardens and lawns for couples to utilize on the big day.

Rare, exotic, and secular species of ornamental plants in the botanical gardens of the Villa create a different setting with shades of color-changing over the course of seasons. Among the shrubs, the great magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) punctually give the park an abundant and showy flowering, with colors that vary from one species to the other.

The Galoppatoio (horse track) is a wide, flat, fenced, green area. Its wide space, located inside the park with access from the road, continues towards the lake. It can be set up with temporary structures and infrastructures suitable for hosting concerts and sporting, cultural and commercial events. The area can be used independently from other events, to expand the usability and parking space. There are two helipads allowing helicopters to access the area.

Getting to Villa Erba

Villa Erba has a private dock for mooring motorboats, yachts and boats for up to 600 spaces.

Cuisine & catering

Michelin-starred chefs, local bakers and chefs patissier can prepare state-of-the-art menus and sweets for your pre-wedding, reception and post-wedding banquet dinners.

Accomodation

Villa Erba does not provide accommodation, but there is accommodation available nearby.

Services

For our esteemed guests, we can organize concierge services, aviation, transportation, extra heating, air conditioning, cooking services, waiters, porter services and security.

Rental period

All-year-round.

Ceremonies & parties

Villa Erba can host both civil and symbolic ceremonies, large parties and intimate events. The entire ground floor, with its entrance hall and 5 rooms, can accommodate up to 450 seated people. The rooms are the perfect space to host various types of events: in the old ballroom, up to 500 people can dance, while the reading room can host 80-people dinners.

Celebrity weddings, old & new Hollywood at Villa Erba

Director Luchino Visconti spent many summers in Villa Erba. In fact, the rooms of the villa inspired the set and interiors in some of his famous masterpieces.

Villa Erba served as the home setting of the notorious robber performed by Vincent Cassel on the 2004 Hollywood production “Ocean’s Twelve”. Vincent Cassel, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt have visited the famed villa many times since.

Famous interior designer Irina Pogonaru & entrepreneur Tudor Georgescu tied the knot in Villa Erba, you can see their wedding featured on Harper’s Bazaar.