Palazzo Borromeo

The Isola Madre palace is the evolution of a building initially constructed without too many ambitions, which later became the residence of the Borromeo family and is now a museum. Reliable and documented information only dates back to 1583, when Renato I Borromeo commissioned Pellegrino Tibaldi - the trusted architect of San Carlo Borromeo - to begin the construction of a palace. The work dragged on, so much so that the last rooms were only completed in the nineteenth century. Inhabited by the family between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the building was subsequently used for other purposes until 1987, when the Borromeos transferred precious furnishings here from other properties in Lombardy. The rooms were then restored and opened to the public.

At the entrance to the palace, the loggia, with marble statues and medallions, leads to the large double-flight staircase. The walls are decorated with portraits of prelates, members of the Arese family and rulers of Spain. From the upper loggia the view extends over the gardens and the Pallanza Riviera before reaching the main floor: the rooms are named after particular furnishings and paintings, such as the Sala delle Stagioni [Hall of the Seasons] and the Sala delle Battaglie [Hall of Battles], or after people who left their mark. The bedroom of Federico VI Borromeo says a lot about the tireless character who lived here in the mid-eighteenth century: among the furnishings, a canopy bed with a marble headboard, an ancient wooden trunk and a Murano chandelier. Equally valuable are the accessories arranged on the table and in the display cases of the Dining Room: a rich Viennese porcelain service from the early nineteenth century and ceramics from exemplary manufacturers.

The real “coup de théâtre” inside the palace is the Marionette Theatre, one of the largest and best-preserved collections of sets, puppets and scripts in the world. A small fantasy world created to put on domestic performances and entertain the guests of Casa Borromeo. In the three rooms dedicated to the Theatre, there are numerous wings and backdrops painted on wooden frames, special effects created by mechanical devices like the “cloud machine” and other installations, which around 1830 bear the signature of the set designer of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Alessandro Sanquirico.

Extraordinarily bright and inspired by the refined taste of the Serenissima, the Salotto Veneziano [Venetian Sitting Room] amazes with an impeccable trompe-l’oeil effect. The impression is of finding yourself in a pavilion supported by columns wound around with plants and flowers. At the centre of the ceiling, a monumental Murano glass chandelier is suspended in all its splendour.