Restoring a Listed Historic Villa on Lake Como: Villa Bolza Scanavino
In Loveno di Menaggio, Villa Bolza Scanavino reveals centuries of history through its architecture. Its oldest part, a tower, dates back to the 16th century. In the 18th century, the building was transformed into an elegant residence, incorporating the tower and acquiring much of the character it retains today.
The villa is protected as a historic monument. Restoring its façades therefore called for a thorough understanding of the building, collaboration between specialists and dialogue with the Soprintendenza, the Italian authority responsible for its protection. Giorgio Veronelli Architecture developed the project and directed the works in collaboration with specialist restorer Laura De Nardi.
Understanding the façades before designing the intervention
Before defining the restoration project, the façades were studied through stratigraphic investigations and a survey of their condition. These investigations helped distinguish original finishes from later additions and identify the main areas of deterioration.
Beneath more recent paint layers, the investigations revealed traces of the 18th-century white lime finish, along with fragments of red decoration around doors, windows and the building’s corners. Later coatings had gradually changed the villa’s appearance. The most recent synthetic finish had also given the façades a flat, uniform look that obscured the character of their historic surfaces.
Conservation and material choices
The project addressed cracks, losses and areas of detached plaster. The evidence uncovered by the investigations also guided the colour scheme: historical colours could be brought back into the design without presenting decorative fragments as a complete original scheme.
Mineral silicate finishes were selected to give the façades an appearance closer to that of the historic lime-based surfaces. The decorative forms around the openings retain the arrangement of the most recent intervention, while their materials and colours were coordinated with the renewed façades.
Working with a protected historic building
Villa Bolza Scanavino shows why the restoration of a listed historic property depends on a close relationship between research, architectural design and specialist conservation. The decisions developed through the study of the façades and dialogue with the Soprintendenza, with the aim of protecting the building and making its architectural character legible once again.
For Giorgio Veronelli Architecture, working with Lake Como’s historic buildings means guiding a project from the first investigation through to construction supervision, coordinating the specialists and authorities involved in their conservation.
