CastaDiva
CastaDiva is a 5-star resort in Blevio in the province of Como in Italy.
The resort was named after the aria Casta Diva from the opera Norma . The centerpiece of the complex is the Villa Roccabruna, once the house of the opera singer Giuditta Pasta , where the composer Vincenzo Bellini wrote his two most famous works: La Sonnambula and Norma.
history
Villa Roccabruna was built in the 18th century on the shores of Lake Como in Blevio.
In the 19th century the villa was known as “ Casino Ribiere ”, after the name of the owner: the French Madame Ribier, who was a famous seamstress and stylist. In the first years of the 19th century, she made stunning dresses for the noble ladies in Milan. Rumors at the time described Madame Ribier as a very free-thinking woman, popular among women for her clothes and among men for her dissolute private life.
In 1827 the villa was bought by Giuditta Pasta, who commissioned the architect Filippo Ferranti (a maternal uncle) with the restructuring. The restoration was carried out between 1827 and 1829. The architect had a large mansion built in the neoclassical style and two smaller extensions for the guests. The buildings connected by tree-lined paths were surrounded by a wonderful garden. The singer named the property “ Villa Roda ”.
The villa was a meeting place for artists, composers and singers. A regular visitor was Vincenzo Bellini, who, inspired by the seascape of Moltrasio and Blevio, composed his work "Norma", which was performed first, with Giuditta Pasta in the title role. This opera contains the aria "Casta Diva", one of the most famous arias of the nineteenth century. The chronicles report that in 1829 Gaetano Donizetti also spent a month in the villa when he was composing the opera “ Anna Bolena ”. Giuditta Pasta spent the last part of her life in the villa, where she died on April 1, 1865 at the age of 67.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Wild family bought the property. In 1904 the Villa Roda was demolished to make way for a new residential building, designed by the architect Carlo Formenti: the Villa Roccabruna . In the course of the second half of the 20th century, the villa experienced changeful times and in the end it remained practically a ruin.
The hotel
After careful remodeling and renovation by the entrepreneur Gabriele Zerbi , the villa now has 75 rooms, 2 restaurants, 4 conference rooms and a 1300 square meter spa . At the end of the construction work, the villa first became the headquarters of the CastaDiva Resort & Spa and then, in 2018, the Mandarin Oriental Lake Como Resort.
swell
- ↑ Luxury Travel Magazine
- ^ A b LombardiBeniCulturali
- ↑ a b c d e The Villa Roccabruna - Blevio. Retrieved December 12, 2019 .
- ↑ CastaDiva Resort & Spa's History ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b CastaDiva Resort & Spa
- ↑ Addio al Casta Diva di Blevio: nuova gestione a company Mandarin Oriental. In: Giornale di Como. August 1, 2018, accessed December 12, 2019 (it-IT).
Coordinates: 45 ° 50 '58 " N , 9 ° 6' 32.4" E