There is no country house in Lombardy that reflects the genius of Renaissance architecture more than does Villa Cicogna Mozzoni, where interior and exterior spaces blend into a graceful, co-ordinated whole.

Rather than the garden borrowing its layout from the house, it is the building which seems to throw itself open to the magnificent views outside, creating a perfect balance between garden and villa.

The house stands on arise facing the foothills of the Viggiù Alps near Varese. It was not conceived as a single plan, and the names of the architects who worked here are unknown: only the principal stages in the development of the property over the years have been recorded.