Close to Lake Maggiore, within the Parco del Ticino, stands a villa designed by the architect Romeo Moretti between 1938 and 1939. Moretti, assistant to Gaetano Moretti at the Milan Politecnico and a friend of S. Elia, was a member of the Milanese group known as “Novecento”.

Villa Carminati is considered the architect’s most significant project. The substantial two-storey house is built on a square floor plan around a small internal courtyard. The design encompasses elements of classical and Veneto-style architecture as well as medieval and modern features, all linked in an extremely natural and harmonious whole. A colonnade connects the villa to a medieval castle, partially restored in the same 1930s by Moretti. The extensive terraced grounds feature numerous tree species, some of which rare.

Since it was built, the villa has belonged to the same family, who intended it as a home of great prestige that lent itself to hosting important international diplomatic meetings.