Teresio Olivelli Park: Description

In the mid-1920s, Lingeri redesigned the park and villas above it for the Meier family. He is responsible for the grand double staircase connected to the bridge and the fountain, inspired by the Italian-style garden of Villa Colonna in Rome. An octagonal building next to the dock, the "Tarocchiera", dates to the early 18th century. The park includes many significant trees, such as an elegant Pious devoniana, a large camphor tree, an old Calocedrus decurrens, a path of umbrella-shaped plane trees and numerous Taxodium distichum, uncommon bald cypresses that sink their roots into water.

During its renovation in 2008-2009, the Tarocchiera was turned into a peaceful place commemorating Lieutenant Teresio Olivelli, a Catholic partisan who received a Gold Medal of Military Valour: the evocative interior now holds Olivelli's "The Rebels' Prayer" and an epigraph by the jurist Piero Calamandrei. The paths that Lingeri designed was restored, the stairway and the fountain were cleaned (and revealed hidden bronzes), and scenic lighting was installed. The gate was expanded with an original insert by two architects from Erba who planned the park's restoration.