The villa owes its origins to Giraldino Della Porta, a notary from Porto Valtravaglia, who in the second half of the 16th century acquired a fief as a means to affirm the prestige of his family. The property was a vast agricultural estate on which he had his residence built. Two centuries later, Gian Angelo III Della Porta transformed its modest gardens into a stunning Baroque complex. On the occasion of his wedding to Milanese countess Isabella Giulini, he commissioned architect Antonio Maria Porani to carry out an extensive restoration of the property, inspired by the great European residences of the time. Adapting to the characteristics of the site, Porani created a garden on several levels, whose perspective axis is curiously parallel, rather than perpendicular, to the main prospect. From the parterres of the first formal garden, a slope leads uphill through four other terraces, divided by an imposing stairway. Potted citrus trees, balustrades, statues and fountains in Viggiù stone add a decorative touch to the layout. At the top there is the Theatre: a wide lawn bordered by cypresses culminating in the Nymphaeum and its Peschiera fish pond. Further up, the pathway continues uphill flanked by two rows of cypresses surrounded by woodland, all the way to a belvedere near the small church of San Bernardino, from where sweeping views of the Valcuvia area can be enjoyed. In 1814, when the last member of the Della Porta family died, the estate was inherited by the Bozzolo family, who then donated it to FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano in 1989.