This property is on the market with Italy Sotheby’s International Realty. Price is disclosed upon application with the listing agency.

There are Lake Como villas, and then there’s Villa Olivetta—a Victorian outlier in a landscape of neoclassical and Renaissance-era grandeur. Built in the second half of the 19th century by Herman Mylius, a London-born engineer, this 19,375 sq. ft. (1,800 sq. m.) estate is more than just an architectural anomaly. It’s a landmark of Menaggio’s past and present, with ties to Henry John Mylius, Herman’s son and the founder of the Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club, Italy’s second-oldest golf course.

Set on 3.2 acres (13,000 sq. m.) in one of Lake Como’s widest and most prestigious locations, Villa Olivetta enjoys an unrivaled position—facing Bellagio’s peninsula with Varenna just across the water. It is Menaggio’s largest private villa, a property that helped define the town’s legacy as a retreat for aristocrats, industrialists, and intellectuals.

Villa Olivetta stands apart from the Italianate and Liberty-style estates that dominate Lake Como. With pitched roofs, intricate woodwork, and an unmistakable English character, the home carries the essence of 19th-century British design. Inside, the library holds rare editions of Punch, the famed English satirical magazine dating back to 1841. The entrance hall tells another story—one of adventure and legacy, featuring a set of whalebone jaws from a historic Mylius expedition, an artifact that has remained untouched for generations.

With 1,050 feet (320 meters) of lake frontage, a private dock, and a small port, Villa Olivetta offers a perspective of Como that few can claim. Its lakeside swimming pool, flanked by century-old trees, sits just beyond the poetic greenhouse and a pair of additional residences—Casa a Lago and Casa Alta—each offering their own secluded retreat within the estate.

For six decades, Villa Olivetta has remained with the same family, never before listed on the market. Now, for the first time, this piece of Menaggio’s history is available—an opportunity for those who understand that some homes don’t just belong to a place, they help define it.

In a lakefront landscape shaped by Italian nobility, European aristocrats, and a handful of visionaries, Villa Olivetta is a rare intersection of English legacy and Italian heritage. It is a home that shaped a town, a lake, and a way of life—for those who know, and those who understand why that matters.