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Isola Bella | Lago Maggiore, Italy

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9K views 42 replies 41 participants last post by  Contr 
#1 ·
A small rocky island in Lake Maggiore is wholly occupied by the Borromeo villa and its garden extravaganza. Soil was shipped in. Like a flower-strewn barge, the island now drifts amongst the snow-capped mountains of the lake. Following the baroque taste for placing a villa at the centre of a layout and allowing avenues to draw the scenery into a garden, Isola Bella employs the lake and mountains as garden features. Local legend relates that the ladies of Borromeo’s household asked the Count to build on the island so that they would not have to listen to prisoners screaming in the dungeons of his mainland castle. The stepped terraces remind one of painters’ interpretations of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The Isola Bella was built from the 1632 by the Milano's family Borromeo, that still today is the owner.

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#4 ·
you can ask them....

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The Borromeo family's association with the rings can be traced back to the fifteenth century. The story begins with Vitaliano, son of Margherita, one of the Borromeos in San Miniato in Tuscany, and Giacomo Vitaliani, a man from an ancient family with roots in Padua (see below for a basic family tree.) In 1396, Vitaliano went to live in Milan with his mother's brother, Giovanni Borromeo. Vitaliano took the surname Borromeo when he was given the citizenship of the city in 1406 by Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan. Fifteen years later his uncle named him as heir of his estate.
Vitaliano held office at the Duke's court, first as treasurer (1418) and then as counsellor (1441). Through this position he was given land around Arona in 1439 and later, in 1445, the Duke invested him as Count of Arona. When the Duke died in 1447, the senate of the new Ambrosian Republic appointed Vitaliano as one of the twelve `bailia' (magistrates). He died in 1449.
His son Filippo continued the successful banking business he had started, with branches in London and Barcelona, and the family became increasingly wealthy. Filippo was made a `Cavaliere Aurato' (Golden knight) by Francesco Sforza in 1450, who succeeded Visconti as Duke of Milan. This is possibly the occasion when the rings were added to the Borromeo crest.

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The crest is on the front of several buildings in Milan. It has various forms and, like the crests of many aristocratic families, it developed over time, recording events in the family's history. A more detailed printed version is shown below. The rings are sometimes shown inset with three diamonds, although these are sometimes reduced to crude spikes. Besides the three rings, the pictures also show other heraldic symbols (unicorn, crown, horse's bridle, camel) and many of these elements can be traced back to this period.

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In 1442 on the death of Borromeo Borromeo, brother of Margherita and Giovanni, the diagonal bands of waves from the Vitaliani crest, and the horizontal bands from the crest of the Borromeos in Svevia, were joined to form a symbol common to both families. This is the earliest part of the crest. The unicorn, with the gold crown around its neck, looking at the Visconti symbol of the serpent eating a boy, were added at Duke Visconti's request when Vitaliano was created a Count. The pointed count's crown and silver bridle were also added at this time.

The three rings were a gift from Francesco Sforza as recognition of the support that the Borromeo family had given in defence of Milan. The tourguides at the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella say that the rings represent the three families Visconti, Sforza and Borromeo who, after much fighting, formed an `inseparable union' through intermarriage. Indeed Filippo married Francesca Visconti. Their daughter Giustina also married into the Visconti family and, since her brother Vitaliano had no children, he nominated her family as heir and started the Visconti-Borromeo family line.

There are several stories to explain the camel and the feathers, one of which relates to the adoption of Vitaliano by Giovanni. After the young Vitaliano had run out of money, he went to Milan to find his rich uncle, even though his earlier requests for help had been denied. He sold what possessions he had, and bought some donkeys and some elaborately decorated covers. When he arrived, his uncle asked him to explain the symbols on the covers. Vitaliano had his answer ready: the camel sitting in the basket signified himself and his poverty. His uncle found this amusing and took him in.
 
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