Liberty Villas in Brunate
Where Architecture Becomes Landscape Poetry
There are places where architecture doesn’t just occupy space—it shapes it. It embraces the land. It enhances the view.
Brunate, perched above Lake Como like a natural balcony, is one of those rare places. But it’s not just the location that makes it special. For those who know how to look, Brunate is an open-air museum of Italian Liberty style—one of the most refined and harmonious in northern Italy.
Why Brunate?
At the end of the 19th century, Milan was growing fast—ambitious, modern, and bourgeois. Its new elite didn’t just seek leisure. They wanted a space to express their cultural identity and aesthetic vision.
Brunate, connected to the city first by rail and, from 1894, by funicular, became their summer retreat.
Here, Liberty architecture took root in a rare, coherent way. These villas were not simple holiday homes—they were aesthetic manifestos. Often designed by top architects or creative engineers, they reflected the identity and ambition of the families who built them.
A Unique Style: Art Meets Nature
Liberty in Brunate has a different soul. It’s not the grand ornamentation of Turin. Not the exotic flair of Palermo.
Here, the style follows the land. Villas curve with the slopes, blend into the trees, and open to the light. You’ll find panoramic towers, wrought iron verandas, and floral designs that seem to grow straight from the walls.
Featured Villas
Villa Cantaluppi Giuliani (1910)
Built by the Boggia company, decorated by Giovanni Ghielmetti of Como. A perfect example of early 20th-century eclectic Liberty style.
Originally owned by the Cantaluppi family, later by the Giuliani family (owners of a well-known pharmaceutical company). Today it’s used by the local municipality and the Brunate Alpine Association.
Highlights:
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Double loggia balconies with valley views
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Glass and wrought iron canopy above the entrance
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Floral details in cement, iron, glass, and ceramic, connecting the house with the surrounding landscape
Villa Rubino
One of Brunate’s first Liberty masterpieces. Built in 1892 for the Counts Crespi of Vaprio d’Adda.
The property includes several buildings (totaling 1,200 m²) inside a stunning 1.2-hectare park filled with ancient beeches and rare plants. Recently restored to preserve original materials.
Now for sale. [Click here for more info.]
Villa Pirotta
Possibly the most iconic. Located along the footpath to the Volta Lighthouse, it appears like a work of art in nature—quiet, sudden, striking.
Its curved lines and pastel colors blend seamlessly into the forest’s light and shade.
A Fragile, Living Heritage
Many of these villas are now private or closed to the public. But even from the street, they speak.
You can still feel the dream that shaped them: a vision of total beauty, where architecture, nature, technology (remember the funicular!), and daily life form one seamless design.
Brunate deserves a slow visit. Here, Liberty is more than decoration—it’s a philosophy of living.
Not Just Architecture. Memory.
Liberty in Brunate isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about presence. It tells the story of a time when beauty was necessary.
Walking among these villas means stepping into that story—a bourgeois dream, yes, but also a deeply human one: to live within nature, not against it.
Planning Your Visit?
🌿 Don’t stop at the view. Look at the windows, the railings, the details. Every villa is part of a greater story.
🏛️ Interested in owning a Liberty villa in Brunate? [Contact us]
🥾 Want to reach Brunate on foot? [Read the full hiking guide]
🗺️ There’s also a Liberty Villa trail through Brunate. Discover it here.