The Grotto

I'm continuing my tour of the grand villa on Isola Bella, one of the islands on Lake Maggiore.

This formal stairway led to the lower level of the villa.

On the lower level we entered one of two rooms dedicated to puppetry.  One room was set up as a theatre for viewing puppet shows and another was full of display cases to view the collection of puppets.

Today we have large screen TVs and video games.  Back then they had theaters inside their homes for viewing elaborate puppet shows.

The rest of the lower level consisted of five rooms called the grotto rooms.  The rooms were covered in pebble-mosaics and when I say covered, I mean every surface, floors, ceilings and walls.

In addition to the pebble-mosaics, the rooms were decorated with coral and sea shells.  These rooms were used during the summer months when the heat became difficult to bear in the upper rooms.  With their stone surfaces and small windows, these rooms would be much cooler and more comfortable.

Adjacent to the last of the grotto rooms, was another stairway leading to the upper level.  This one was not as grand as the one we descended but this one was unique in that there was no visible means of support other than the walls from which the steps protrude.  A rather amazing feat of engineering for that era.

As I said in last week's post, if you ever visit this place do so on a weekday.  We were there on a weekend and an Italian holiday.  The crowds were almost oppressive.  I'd love to visit again when there are fewer people so I could get a better look at all the spectacular details.

I visited quite a few grand villas on this trip to Italy but this one stands out as the most incredible, opulent and ornate of them all.