· 6 min read · by Salimar Boat Tour
Villa La Cassinella, the villa nobody gets to see
The Dosso di Lavedo, the wooded peninsula reaching into the lake opposite Isola Comacina, holds two properties. On the tip stands Villa del Balbianello, which everybody knows. On the southern side, hidden behind cypresses, is La Cassinella: the villa people talk about most and know least.
Why you never see it
It is reached essentially only by boat, a five-minute ride from Campo di Lenno where guests have a private garage; the rental includes a wooden open boat for up to seven people. An old footpath from Lenno exists, but it is not the way in: the boat-only access is deliberate, and part of the product.
The story
Its origins are late 19th century. In 1926 the Texan heiress Fanny Hart commissioned engineer Carlo Mantegazza to rebuild the pre-existing Villa Rosa on the southern side of the Dosso. The Mantegazza family later owned it: Carlo died in 1960, his son Giacomo bought it outright in 1964 and reworked the interiors from 1965.
At the end of 2004 the Mantegazza family sold it to the offshore company Fiammetta Limited, based in Limassol, for a reported 17.5 million euros. In early 2026 La Provincia di Como reported a new sale for a figure "above 90 million euros", to a Russian-origin entrepreneur living in St Moritz, already a luxury-hotel owner from a noble family active in hospitality since the second half of the 1800s.
What it includes
- About 30,000 square metres of estate, with gardens of roughly three hectares
- Main villa with Siena-marble entrance, ornamental staircase, drawing room opening onto a covered terrace and a jasmine-draped loggia
- Nine bedrooms, sleeping up to 17 between the main house and the annexe
- Heated infinity pool, artificial-turf tennis court, padel court, sauna, gym, home cinema
- A pool house with cinema and gym, and a separate Terrace House
- Private dock and lakefront beach
What it costs
Published indicative rates start at 118,800 euros a week for up to 8 guests, 171,600 for up to 13 and 196,800 for up to 17. From June to August the minimum stay is seven nights; from May and from September onwards it drops to three. Add a food and drink deposit of 15,000 euros a week and a 10,000-euro security deposit. Forbes has listed it among the most beautiful holiday villas in the world.
How we see it
Passing the Dosso di Lavedo, just after Balbianello: from the water you can make out the tall cypresses, the dock and the pool level with the lake. It is the only way to see it, and the only way its owners accept it being seen.
