Weddings, executive meetings, conferences, team retreats and private celebrations can be held here for up to 200 guests seated at dinner, with about 40 people sleeping on site. Villa Pliniana stands on the shore of Lake Como in Torno, on 18 acres of gardens and woodland, and is operated by Sereno Hotels.
Seminars and company events
The villa takes corporate groups for conferences, executive meetings and team-building retreats, as well as birthdays and other private occasions. Its size suits a leadership team or a board that wants to meet, eat and sleep in one place. The staff covers the whole stay, from setup to cleanup. Arrival is simple for international groups: Milan's main airports are within reach, and the estate has a private helipad and its own boat dock on the lake.
Weddings and receptions
Ceremonies, the aperitivo and the wedding dinner can all take place on the estate, which is made up of several separate buildings set between the water, the gardens and the forest. Trained waiters, chefs and support staff run the day. Guests of the wedding party can stay in the villa's suites, so the celebration can extend over several days.
Rooms and capacities
The ballrooms seat up to 200 people for dinner. Outdoor settings include the lakefront, the gardens and the colonnade, from which the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley described the view in 1818.
Accommodation
The villa has 17 bedrooms and suites spread across six houses, sleeping around 40 guests. Casa Anguissola, named after the villa's builder, holds the largest suite. Casa Visconti sits on the first floor of the main villa with views of the lake and the park. Casa Wagram stands almost on the water. In Casa dei Plini, on the path toward the forest, each room has a private terrace. Casa Shelley faces the park, and Casa Belgiojoso is named after the family that owned the villa in the 19th century.
Stays include daily breakfast, housekeeping, a butler and a concierge. A separate spa and pool building has a sauna, a steam bath and sensory showers, with therapists on call. There is indoor parking, a golf cart, Wi-Fi and air conditioning throughout.
Catering
A private chef works on the property, and the villa's own kitchen and service staff cater events.
History and setting
Count Giovanni Anguissola, governor of Como, began building the villa in 1573 around a spring whose rising and falling water had been described by Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, and later studied by Leonardo da Vinci. The Visconti Borromeo family bought it in 1590, and the Canarisi family, owners from 1676, restored the chapel of St. Francis and redecorated the main halls. In the 19th century Prince Emilio Barbiano di Belgiojoso made it his retreat. Gioachino Rossini composed Tancredi here, and Mario Soldati filmed Malombra at the villa in 1942. After years of neglect, a conservation and renovation project ran from winter 2013 to fall 2015.
