Cernobbio
Renaissance lakeside villa turned grand hotel, its arcaded terraces the scene of a nineteen-forty-eight society scandal.
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About this audio guide
This guide to Villa d'Este in Cernobbio on Lake Como turns on a jealous scene from September 1948, when Countess Pia Bellentani asked a former lover for one last dance on the hotel's dance floor and got only laughter. It follows the shooting that killed the Milanese silk manufacturer Carlo Sacchi, her own botched suicide attempt, and the courtroom fight over whether it counted as a crime of passion. The judge's verdict sent her to a mental hospital rather than prison.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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