I Giardini di Villa Melzi
Neoclassical lakeside garden with a citrus orangery, camellia hedges and centuries-old exotic trees.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the orangery in the Giardini di Villa Melzi on Lake Como tells the story of a glass building raised between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Napoleon's vice president of the Italian Republic. It explains why keeping orange and lemon trees alive through an Alpine winter was less about fruit than about status, a display of Mediterranean luxury few neighbors could match. You'll hear how the potted trees were wheeled indoors each autumn and back out to the terraces each spring, so summer guests strolling the grounds saw nothing unusual at all. Look closely at the glass walls Melzi built just to keep up appearances.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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