Stresa, Piedmont, Address available on request

Villa Framisi is located in Stresa, an elegant and refined town, recognized as the Pearl of Lake Maggiore. Overlooking the Borromean Islands, Villa Framisi is among the 10 most evocative places in Italy. Sailing on Lake Maggiore you can reach the Borromean Islands, the most exclusive Italian and Swiss towns and places of singular beauty. Villa Framisi is an eighteenth-century villa, originally owned by the Borromeo family, a noble family who in the fourteenth century became owners of the islands opposite, called the Borromean Islands. Villa Framisi is the only villa in the gulf that fully enjoys the view of all three Borromean Islands. The villa, entirely restored in 2001, has maintained its ancient structure. It has two entrances: the main one, once reserved for nobles, faces the Corso, to give carriages the opportunity to stop in front of the entrance door; the secondary one, at the time used by service personnel, has access from the mini-park. The exterior of the villa  portico, balustrade, part of the flooring  is in pink Baveno granite, the same granite used to make part of the Milan Cathedral. Villa Framisi is located, in fact, a few kilometers from the quarries of origin of the precious granite which, in the 14th century, was transported to Milan on large barges, along the navigable canals. In the mini-park, measuring 1,000 m2, you can admire vegetation made up of palm trees, tall trees and various floral species, including camellias, a typical lake flower. The walkability of the mini-park is in bristles, a characteristic paving of the area, widespread since the 18th century. The pebbles used come from the Ticino, a river that originates in nearby Switzerland and which forms Lake Maggiore, and were taken from points where the water, over the centuries, has smoothed them, giving them the typical rounded shape. On the balustrade, which delimits the water from the mainland, statues from the early 1900s, representing the divinities, offer themselves to the lake. From the mini-park you have access to the villa's dock, illuminated for night-time use and, in the summer period, you can use the nearby private beach, the exclusive property of the villa. The external stairs of Villa Framisi are made of white granite from Montorfano, a rock formed around 280 million years ago and white in color with black dots. The white granite of Montorfano is also called "miarolo", a dialect term that derives from "mile", because the grains that characterize this stone are reminiscent of small cereal grains. The mini-park hosts an annex of 36 m2 which can be expanded into a fitness room and equipped with a room for storing tools. The first floor of Villa Framisi is divided into two large rooms: a lounge and a library. The flooring of the entire floor is in 18th century Venetian flooring, one of the oldest floors used in architecture, whose roots lie in the school of Roman mosaic. In the room and in the library there are pieces of furniture dating back to the 18th century, paintings by illustrious Italian painters of the early 1900s and Murano glass chandeliers. The library's bookcase is in refectory style, it embraces three walls of the room and houses over 1,500 volumes. The terrace, covered by a transparent roof, enjoys a view of the lake. Furnishings and paintings are included in the price. Villa Framisi, over 400 square meters of walkable space, is connected by an internal staircase in Carrara marble. The wooden handrail dates back to the late nineteenth century and has recently been restored. From the staircase, the large windows offer a suggestive picture of the lake panorama. Surface: 129.20 m2 The ground floor, originally used for service staff, now houses a large industrial kitchen, a refined cutting-edge product of Italian design. The kitchen leads to a cellar containing hundreds of fine wines, preserved by the constant temperatures of the room, underground, like the service bathroom, the laundry room and the boiler room. In the dining room, a table made of volcanic lava stone, as well as the kitchen, rests on the original stone floor of the villa. Looking up, under the kitchen vaults, you can admire the eighteenth-century frescoes, representing lake images, brought to light during the restoration phase. Surface: 89.40 m2 The second floor, originally made up of three bedrooms, now houses the master bedroom and a guest bedroom. The third bedroom has been transformed into a large wardrobe. The choice of the current owners was to overlook all the habitable rooms on the lake. Like the first floor, the second is also embellished with pieces of 18th century furniture, 18th and early 20th century paintings and various sacred images. Surface: 68.00 m2 The top floor of the villa is a "mini-apartment" with a living area, now used as a study, a bedroom and a bathroom.