The Colombaia of Forio d’Ischia is the famous summer residence of Luchino Visconti. The villa is located on the ridge of Zaro in Forio of Ischia, overlooking the sea, hidden in pine trees, holm oaks and Mediterranean forest. For the director it was a refuge of love, a theater, a secret and isolated place for the soul, today it is a museum dedicated to Luchino Visconti and a place of cultural and architectural interest for the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

The Villa Colombaia has been created by the local politician and journalist Luigi Patalano, who wanted to build this kind of castle immersed in the green, trying to follow the lines and forms of a French medieval castle. The Villa was built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In the early 1950’s, La Colombaia met the passion and creativity of director Luchino Visconti, who fell in love with the villa and did everything to buy it. At the beginning, Visconti, like the other artists, preferred the eastern part of the island, the Ischia City, more developed at a tourist level than Forio. But Forio soon became the destination and residence of Italian and foreign artists and intellectuals seeking for peace, tranquility, privacy and simplicity.

And in the frame of the wood of Zaro, Luchino Visconti found his home, fascinated by those white brushstrokes that contrast the green and blue of the sea, abducted by those windows and those arches and the asymmetry of the spaces.

Visconti restructured the villa with the help of Giorgio Pes in Liberty style. Visconti invested a lot in the restoration and valuation of Colombaia: he bought floors from ancient villas of Campania, enriched it with antiques from London and Paris, and meticulously took care of the surrounding garden as well.

Here some projects of theatre plays were found and most probably Visconti worked on the screenplay of the Ludwig 1973 film here.

The Villa Colombaia is the only institution dedicated to the director, and within it is possible to visit the museum dedicated to him. There are images, memories, relics, stage costumes, as well as a room for the documentaries and film showing of the cinema director.

If you are planning your holidays in Ischia, we recommend you to visit beautiful Villa Colombaia of Luchino Visconti.