Villa Rezzola is an ancient stately home set in a large, lush terraced garden. Already documented in the 18th century, it stands on medieval remains of military origin and was progressively expanded and modernised over the next two centuries. In 1900, it was purchased by Helen Lavinia and William Percy Cochrane, who were responsible for most of the alterations. In 1935, the property passed to Countess Mara Braida Carnevale and then to her daughter Maria Adele, known as Pupa, who lived here with her husband Piero Gualberto Miniati and who, together with him, decided to bequeath Villa Rezzola to the FAI “so that it would be protected, enhanced and made accessible to many visitors.”

From the terraces of the house, you can enjoy an exceptional view of the Gulf of Poets, which stretches from Lerici to Portovenere and which, since the 19th century, has captured the hearts of a large number of writers and artists, from Shelley and Byron to Lawrence. Equally exceptional is the English garden: a long wisteria pergola runs through it, separating groves and cultivated areas – a rose garden, a vegetable garden and an orchard – from a monumental lawn, crossed by a walking path, bordered by hedges with flowerpots and embellished with ponds and fountains. Thanks to a well-structured organisation of botanical work, a complex water system, and the presence of dedicated buildings, plants for the garden and cut flowers are created and grown directly on site. Many different species of trees shade the park, some rare and precious, such as camphor and magnolia trees, but also cypresses, olive trees and a holm oak forest that extends over terraces descending almost to the sea.