Villa Olmo is one of the main symbols of the city of Como, one of the most famous and sumptuous historic houses in the Como area; it was built in neoclassical style between 1782 and 1787 by the Ticino architect Simone Cantoni (Muggio di Mendrisio, Canton Ticino, 1736 - Milan 1818), on behalf of Innocenzo Odescalchi.
The Villa stands at the north-western end of the city of Como, at the end of the lakeside promenade of the Villas of Borgo Vico (today's Lino Gelpi promenade), opened in 1957 to connect the most prominent patrician buildings of the city.
Walking along the promenade and admiring the stately homes overlooking the lake you can perceive that romantic and fascinating combination of landscape, ingenuity and taste of architects and gardeners that, between 1700 and 1800, made the shores of the Lario a coveted destination of the Grand Tour of the European nobility and that Villa Olmo, with its park, still evokes today.
