A Very Special Meeting Place

High above the village of Bellagio in Italy is the Villa Serbelloni, a place with an ancient history.  The property was acquired by Count Alessandro Serbelloni in 1566.  He didn't change much about the simple lines of the villa, he was more interested in the immense park that surrounded the villa.  He spent exorbitant amounts to build roads and trails and to landscape the property.

The villa itself is not open to the public.  It is used exclusively as a meeting place for scholars and it has seen many illustrious guests.

However, the gardens may be visited via a guided tour and that was how I got to enjoy the beauty of the place.

The tour climbs up the hillside passing many small buildings along the way.  Our guide told us that many of the small buildings were used as places where guests could meditate or relax away from the groups they were working with.

We were almost to the top when we got our first views of the actual villa.  I'm not sure how the scholars visiting here could concentrate with a view like that outside the window.

At the top of the hill, we walked through the ruins of an older building that was sitting perched at the very top of the mountain.

With a view like this, I can see why someone would have built that stone building on the top of this hill.  The tour is a bit of a climb but with views like this and all the picturesque buildings along the way, it was well worth the effort.