Lake Como - Villa Carlotta

Villa Carlotta (formerly Sommariva, named after Charlotte, Duchess of Meiningen, mother of an earlier owner; now the property of the State). The palace built in 1747 contains Thorwaldsen's famous marble frieze of Alexander the Great's triumphal entry into Babylon, and sculptures by Canova. The gardens are a riot of southern vegetation (azaleas in bloom in May).

The garden is laid out on steep terraces leading down to the lake.