Exclusive apartment in historic villa with park and pond

Construction period: post-1829 – pre-1840

The Lombard neoclassical villa stands in Monza’s historic centre and includes a vast landscaped park with two small temples, a neo-medieval tower, an irrigation canal, an artificial lake and various other classical-style architectural features. The main building has a central block comprising a ground floor and two upper floors, framed by giant Ionic half-columns with an entablature, a crowning pediment and a lateral attic. The entrance courtyard is rectangular.

Inside, the villa has been variously divided into apartments, created by closing existing doorways without drastically altering the original spatial layout. Numerous frescoed rooms with vaulted ceilings, vertical brick structures and pitched roofs covered with clay tiles are still well preserved.

Historical information

The villa was built by Luigi Canonica (or under his direction) for the Archinto counts between 1829 and 1840, on the site of a previous eighteenth-century complex.

The building is considered the most important neoclassical villa in Monza after the Royal Villa.

A large landscaped park adjoining the Royal Park and the Lambro River was also created to Canonica’s design. The complex remained the property of the Archinto family until 1862, when Count Luigi sold it to the Barnabite order, which converted it into a boys’ boarding school.

In 1873 the institution was dissolved: the villa, purchased by Filippo Pennati, was leased to the administration of the Royal Household until King Umberto I held court in Monza.

Since then, it has remained with the Pennati family, who live there permanently and ensure its preservation.