Located less than an hour away from Milan, near the beautiful town of Azzate by Lake Varese, is Villa Berla. This 16th-century Lombardy palazzo has been subtly restored, giving guests the opportunity to experience its grand Baroque architecture in the most authentic way possible. With walk-in, stone fireplaces, exterior colonnades, and colorful frescoes, each room feels as if you’re in a movie.

The owners, 3 sisters who inherited the house from their father, recruited the help of interior architect Marta Nowicka, DOM’s Creative Director, to restyle and redefine the existing spaces while bringing out its original character. Working together with working with photographer Voytek Ketz, capture and captivate a new audience of guests with fresh eyes.

We talked with Erica Berla,  to discuss the history of Villa Berla as well her vision of the future of the place:

I’d like to start with a little bit of history about Villa Berla. I know your father, Riccardo Berla, bought the place more than 30 years ago to bring the whole family - 3 generations if I'm not mistaken - under its roof. Has the place changed a lot over the years?

In many ways, yes the Villa has changed. When he bought the place, my father was traveling a lot and he was often in the UK, so that was also apparent in the house. He loved gardening and it was perfect to have those big gardens in the back where he could explore his passion at the time. 

My father adapted the palazzo into 4 dwellings  - the main, grand part of the house for him & my mother / the area above for me and the extention / wing of the home which was built later was carved into 2 units for my sisters. It was done very subtly with little intervention on the original architecture, so it has some interesting spatial quirks! 

Unfortunately, then he got sick so there were a lot of necessary changes that had to happen to make it a bit easier for him to live there. When my parents became older and unwell we had to adapt the ground floor for accessibility and ease of caring.

That is understandable as architecture changes along with the occupants' needs. More recently, you collaborated with DOM’s own Marta Nowicka who made styling tweaks. What was that process like?

You know, Marta has such a different style than us. She’s a minimalist and we are, well, more maximalist for sure, so we got rid of a lot of furniture like bookcases and such. She came in with a completely fresh perspective, so it was really interesting to see the house through her and Voytek’s eyes, as you can see in the photos. 

Marta was staying at the Villa and if I’m not mistaken, it was also Voytek’s birthday at the time, so she set up a grand dinner table in the music room come library, in front of the huge stone fireplace which was lit; a room that we had never used like that before. 

Also, there are a lot of furniture pieces around the house that we wanted to keep, so it ended up being a blend of styles, which is quite modern actually. Obviously, a lot of things have sentimental value to us so we are quite attached to them but I think it was like a conversation between us to reach a happy compromise.

Indeed, there are so many intriguing details in your home. From the intricate frescoes in the main rooms, to the rear English gardens, I’m interested to hear what your favorite room in the house is?

That would probably be the patio or the kitchen. It’s really beautiful when the whole extended family comes together and when we’re hosting. We’re a big group and I love to see the house full of our family, because that’s the character of that place. My parents loved entertaining. 

Why did you decide to open Villa Berla up to guests?

Mainly, because it is a shame to see such a beautiful house empty. It is not lived for a lot of the time, as we have our family homes elsewhere, so we thought it would be better to have someone else in there. 

How has it been like welcoming different guests into your home and getting to experience Villa Berla through their eyes?

It always depends on the reaction of someone. It can be scary, because you feel very vulnerable in that situation, you know. You wonder if someone will be able to appreciate it or like the things you do in the house, so it can be quite an overwhelming process. But then sometimes, you have a guest who appreciates little things that are sentimental to you and it’s wonderful to see.

I imagine that COVID shook things up quite a bit. 

Absolutely. The first year, welcoming strangers was quite scary and we had to change our process. We had to ask guests for vaccination certificates and took the necessary precautions. Now that things are definitely a bit less intense in Italy, tourism has returned to its original standing. Most of our guests are actually international, and we definitely notice that they care a lot less about COVID. Regardless, there were also some good aspects to it; my sister, for example, spent the first lockdown there with her daughter and grandchild and it was quite a unique experience for them to be able to enjoy the house once again. 

Now you’re now looking for someone to buy Villa Berla. What led to this decision and what are you looking for in a future buyer? 

There are a lot of reasons, but truthfully it’s really difficult to maintain the house because it’s so large. When my father bought the place it was unique in that it brought the whole family together. Now, a generation later, people have a different attachment to it. Obviously, everyone has their own projects going on so maintaining the property and not living there can be quite the task. I think the ideal scenario would be to find someone who falls in love with the house and appreciates the property for what it is. Perhaps a large family like ours, someone who can make their own traditions. That would be nice!

If you had absolutely no limitations, what would be your dream for the legacy of the Villa?

As I mentioned, I would love for the house to be bought by a family to continue its heritage and build their own memories there. Otherwise, I’d like to see it become a type of agriturismo for fabulous local produce ( regional wines, pastas and meats) or a cultural center perhaps. There are a lot of rooms downstairs that could be transformed for hospitality and it would also mean we get to visit the place when we want as well. I’d love to see Villa Berla become a place for the community, somewhere that brings people together and attracts tourism to the local area. There are so many opportunities here.

Villa Berla is available for bookings on DOMstay. Please get in touch if you’re also interested in buying the property and would like to schedule a visit as well.

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