The island ,which belongs, nowadays, to the Cavazza Family has had various names throughout the centuries, almost always connected to the families who owned it: Insula Cranie, Isola dei Frati,Isola Lechi ,Isola Scotti ,Isola de Ferrari and later Isola Borghese.
Allthough there are no exact references in latin writings, there is no doubt the Island was inhabited in early roman times ;this is confirmed by 130 Gallic-roman tombstones found on the Island and given by Count Luigi Lechi to the Roman Museum in Brescia .
Abandoned to itself during the decline of the Roman Empire, the Island was used as a game reserve until 879.
It was first mentioned historically in an order by Carlomanno in 879 reporting the donation of the Island to the monks of San Zeno in Verona.
The Island remained the property of the monks for an indefinite time and around 1180 it was part of the feud granted by Federico Barbarossa to the ancestors of Biemino da Manerba.The same year, on the way back from the East through Albania and Dalmatia ,S.Francis from Assisi visited many places in Northern Italy including Lake Garda, known as Benaco in former times.
So remote, the Island appeared an ideal spot for St. Francis’s monks and Biemino da Manerba attracted by the saint’s charisma, gave him part of the property.
St.Francis established a simple hermitage on the rocks facing north.
In spite of the continuous military raids from Brescia, Verona and Mantova, the monks never abandoned this lonely corner. When St. Bernard of Siena arrived in 1429, the old monastery was enlarged and renewed .The Island then became a famous clerical meditation centre which gave hospitality to very important religious personages like Father Francesco Licheto from the noble Lechi family in Brescia who started in 1470 to establish a theology and philosophy school .At his death a period of decay started for the religious community on the Island.
From 1685 to 1697 it was a novitiate hermitage for the monks.
In 1778 the ancient monastery was finally suppressed by Napoleon, who during the Cisalpine Republic acquired the right of property of the Island .
The Island then fell into the hands of the State and after that passed through several owners :
Gian Battista Conter (1800) ,the Benedetti brothers from Portese (1803) ,Giovanni Fiorentini from Milan (1806) and then to Count Luigi Lechi from Brescia (1817). Luigi Lechi commissioned important restauration and construction works and twenty years later gave the property to his brother Teodoro,former general in Napoleon’s army . Teodoro introduced further changes by adding terraces to the front of the house.
In 1860 it was expropriated by the state and assigned to the army . Plans for the building of a fortress were put aside and it was sold by auction to Baron Scotti who resold it to Duke Gateano de Ferrari from Genova and his wife, the Russian Archduchess Maria Annenkoff.
Between 1880 and 1900 the new owners devoted themselves to the planning and realization of the gardens. Walls were built towards the lake and fertile earth and exotic essences were introduced.The palace was enriched by terraces with Italian gardens, designed with elaborate hedges and flowered bushes.
Before the Duke died in 1893 , the couple conceived plans for a new palace to be built on the site of the previous Lechi house.
The neogothic-venetian villa was built between 1890 and 1903 from a project by Luigi Rovelli and the Archduchess supervised the works personally .
The result was an extremely complex and harmonious building with impressive grandeur .
The façades are pierced with Gothic windows and in the south western corner a tower rises crowned by battlements sculptured in stone with floral decorations.
At the Archduchess’s death , the Island passed to her daughter Anna Maria who married Prince Scipione Borghese from Rome.Anna Maria loved the Island very dearly and made it her home for the rest of her life , looking after the gardens and family memories with special care.
In 1927,at the death of Prince Scipione Borghese ,the Island was inherited by his daughter Livia , married to Count Alessandro Cavazza from Bologna who mantained it beautifully and left it to her son Camillo .It was then inherited by his wife Charlotte Chetwynd Talbot and their seven children. The Family lives on the Island all year round ,and continues to look after the gardens and the Villa lovingly.
The Villa
The Villa
Villa de Ferrari-Borghese-Cavazza: Neogothic-venetian Villa, built between 1890 and 1903 from a project by Luigi Rovelli(1850-1911)for the Duke Gaetano de Ferrari and his wife,the Archduchess Maria Annenkoff.
The Tower (1900-1903)
The Tower (1900-1903)
The façades are pierced with Gothic windows and battlements sculptured in stone with floral decorations .
