Villa Fogazzaro Roi - Bene FAI | Grandi Giardini Italiani

Information

Opening hours
Season 2025
Villa Fogazzaro Roi is open to the public as follows:

February
Open only on the indicated days: 14-15-16-22-23 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm:
1 - March 20
Open only on the days indicated: 1-2-8-9-15-16 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
March 21-October 25
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
26 October - 30 November
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
December
Open only on the days indicated: 5-6-7-8-12-13-14-19-20-21-26-27-28, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m:
January 2026
Open only on the days indicated: 2-3-4-5-6, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm:

Overtime openings on April 21, June 2, June 9, December 8.

Entrance
SHORT TOUR (duration 30 minutes, guided tour of the main floor and roof garden)
FAI members: free
Full: € 12.00
Students (up to 25 years of age): € 8.00
Reduced (6-18 years old): € 8.00
Children (up to 5 years old): free

FULL TOUR (duration 60 minutes, guided tour of the entire house: main floor, bedrooms and roof garden)
FAI members: € 6,00
Full: € 18.00
Students (up to 25 years of age): € 12.00
Reduced (6-18 years old): € 12.00
Children (up to 5 years): free

Contact us
Via Antonio Fogazzaro, 14
22010 Oria di Valsolda (Como)

M. +39 335 7275054
T. +39 0344 536602

www.fondoambiente.it

History

The historic building on Lake Porlezza was bequeathed to FAI by the great grandson of celebrated Italian novelist Antonio Fogazzaro, Giuseppe Roi, in 2009.
The Vicenza-born novelist spent long periods of his life in the villa, and its refined interiors remain highly evocative of the descriptions in his 1896 book entitled The Little World of the Past. A literary house, then, which for Fogazzaro served as a quiet, se- cluded refuge, facing out over the lake and immersed in the greenery of the Valsolda. The building is constructed on a pre-existing structure dating back to the 16th century, and to this day features the original, 400-year-old garden on three terraces – one of which is suspended – awash with sweet osmanthus, as creeping fig winds its way round the walls and balustrades, mirroring the place described by the author.

''The little hanging garden was transformed into the image and likeness of Franco. A sweet osmanthus in the corner spoke of the power of gentle things on the warm, impetuous spirit of the poet; over in another corner, a little cypress, which Luisa did not much like, encapsulated his religious nature; a small fretwork parapet, between the cypress and the osmanthus, with two lines of tufa at the top, containing a delightful population of verbena, petunia and portulaca, hinted at the singular ingenuity of the artificer; the numerous roses scattered everywhere expressed his affection for classical beauty; the creeping fig that covered the walls on the lakeside, the two orange trees in the middle of the two terraces and a vigorous, lucid carob revealed a temperament that was highly sensitive to the cold, a creativity always facing southwards, unmoved by the charms of the north.'' (A. Fogazzaro, The Little World of the Past).

In 1941 the villa's garden and reception room served as the set for the film Old-Fashioned World, directed by Mario Soldati, which was closely based on Fogazzaro's successful novel.

How to get here

By car
From Lugano, passing through the Swiss border if arriving from Italy, follow the signs for Gandria Customs House and Oria. At the junction for Castello, you will find Villa Fogazzaro Roi.
As a reminder, to access Swiss highways it is necessary to purchase a highway sticker. Canton roads, on the other hand, are free of charge.
From Como follow the signs for Menaggio, Porlezza and Valsolda; then continue for about four kilometers along State Road 340 in the direction of Valsolda along the lake. Past Albogasio at the junction for Castello, you will find Villa Fogazzaro Roi.

Lake way
Boarding from Lugano by public service (Lake Lugano Navigation Company). Stop: Oria
Cab boat service available with boarding from Lugano and/or Porlezza.

Bus
From Como to Oria approx. 60 minutes with change at Menaggio or from Lugano station to Oria 15 minutes. Scheduled departures approximately every hour. For information, click here.

By train
Reference stop: Como
For train schedules, consult the Trenord website.

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl