Water Lily Villa

The Water Lily Villa park includes sculptures, a museum and a neo-classical Chapel, all covered by the ticket. Its azaleas and rhododendrons are a highlight. The villa was built from 1808 to 1810 as a summer residence for Francesco Melzi d’Eril, count of Lodi and Vice president of the First Italian Republic in the time of Napoleon. He chose Giocondo Albertolli as architect, drawing on a taste for neo-classical style from Napoleonic France. White columns beside the landing stage and the regular line of windows give the house a classical look from the lake. Luigi Canonica and agronomist Luigi Villoresi, who also laid out the Parco di Monza, designed the park. Its garden axis runs uphill from the lake to a point above the villa, with winding paths crossing it. Egyptian sculptures and Roman statues sit beneath trees, along the shore and at path junctions, adding to the romantic feel. Exotic trees were planted in keeping with the period’s taste, and the Japanese pond with water lilies, maples and cedars is fascinating. The azaleas and rhododendrons bloom in April and May. Count Gallarati Scotti is the present owner. Separately, the Water Lily Shaft near Eureka, Utah was dug in 31 days in 1921 and won a “World Champion Shaft Sinking” competition. Walter Fitch Jr. Company drilled it using Waugh Clipper Drills, setting a record with 427.5 feet of vertical, three-compartment shaft dug in that 31-day period.