Villa Antonelli

A Rationalist Architectural Design Temple Overlooking Lake Como

With its dizzying display of designer furnishings from the mid-century modern era, its classically clean Rationalist lines, and its breathtaking Lake Como location, this showplace villa stands as a veritable design gallery, with each of its intentionally sourced pieces available for purchase. It has been featured in T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

Cast in concrete in 1959 and plastered in white, this villa by Luigi Zuccoli, a collaborator and friend of Guiseppe Terragni, one of the founding fathers of Italian Rationalist architecture, illustrates the movement's style. Its boxy proportions showcase the movement’s defining characteristics, and the symmetric structure rises three stories from the lakeshore, its top floors dramatically cantilevered over the water.

The ground floor holds the villa’s common areas—a kitchen, dramatic entry foyer, and a living and dining room enclosed in glass, offering picture-perfect lake views. There are two queen-sized bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Three small bedrooms and a bathroom fill the upstairs area, lined by a view terrace. The lower level of the home, the original resident’s former medical practice, now serves as an independent guest suite.

The makeover by Tommaso Spinzi, the Milan-based interior designer and furniture maker, roots the villa in its time, as Spinzi restored fixed, built-in furnishings, as well as windows, doors and preserved many outdoor details, restyling the spaces to balance contemporary and vintage elements. He added designer furnishings from the era and the region, including a polished wooden bar cat by Ico Parisi (a Lake Como architect and resident), 1964-vintage armchairs by Gio Ponti of Milan, a coffee table by Willy Rizzo from the 1970s, and a slashed canvas by 1960s artist Lucio Fontana. The original wood bookshelves feature a vintage glass lamp collection, and petal-shaped Medea chairs designed by Vittorio Nobili in 1950 encircle a bespoke table by Spinzi himself.

Bedrooms follow color themes—brown, green and cobalt blue, distinguishing them from the Rationalist building’s exterior design. And the designer furnishings continue across the sleep spaces, including sculpted beds and headboards by the likes of Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodor, a Gio Ponti wardrobe and a chrome armchair by Giotto Stoppino. There are also custom designs by Spinzi, including pieces from his Meccano furniture line and wallpaper inspired by Lake Como, plus the mirrored sideboard, the palladium and Silös series tables throughout the house, and the sculptural marble side tables, MEDUSA, one crafted of white Carrara the other from local, blue stone.

Outdoors, the villa’s stone terrace sits next to the water, the balcony soars above it, and there’s a small Japanese garden and private dock.

Additional Information The home's windows are originals from the 1950s (not double glazed). The area is quiet, but expect the sounds of village life, from bell tower chiming to live music on weekends at local cafes. AC is available with a request for energy-efficient living practices. Barriers around the property are also 1950s-era originals, lower than today's regulation height. Lake swimming is deep and cold. Swim at your own risk. Finally, the house is ideal for taking in the lake's great energy, unwinding, and enjoying slow living.

Around

Lake Como needs no introduction, and this striking temple to Rationalist design adds to the glamorous lake’s enticing architectural heritage. Minimalist and boxy, the sugar-cube structure occupies the banks of Lake Como’s western shore, in Carate Urio, about 10 kilometers from Como at the foot of the Italian Alps. The town staggers up a steep slope and spreads across the waterfront, its arch-covered alleyways and vaulted stone buildings contributing to its old-world charms. A bell tower caps the community, and there are steep stairs cut through the village leading uphill to the church past small chapels.

Water activities and mountain sports are the rule in Urio Carate, and hiking trails depart the town into the Monti di Carate and Monti di Urio, in addition to neighboring peaks. Ferries depart the village for storied towns such as the pearl of the lake, Bellagio, and busy Como as well as scenic Laglio and Moltrasio. There are captained private boats for hire for sunset cruises, picnic tours and guided excursions around the lake’s many villages.

Location

Carate Urio, Lake Como, Italy. Nearest airport: Milan Malpensa (40km)

Best time to visit

April to October