A Victorian Lakefront Estate in Menaggio on Lake Como
A 19th-century British relic, this Victorian villa holds a rare Punch library and a whalebone artifact from a Mylius expedition, untouched for generations.
There are Lake Como villas, and then there is Villa Olivetta — a distinctly English presence along a shoreline more commonly defined by neoclassical and Liberty-style estates. Built in the second half of the 19th century by London-born engineer Herman Mylius, who designed the residence himself, the villa reflects a Victorian architectural language rarely found on this stretch of the lake.
The estate is located in Menaggio, positioned along one of the widest and most prestigious sections of Lake Como. The peninsula of Bellagio sits directly opposite, with Varenna across the central basin — a vantage point long considered geographically significant where the lake’s three branches converge.
Historically, Menaggio developed as one of Lake Como’s early international enclaves, particularly popular among British visitors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That Anglo-Italian connection is reflected in the founding of the Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club in 1907 by Henry John Mylius, son of the villa’s original owner. Today, it remains Italy’s second-oldest golf club and a marker of the town’s longstanding cross-Channel ties.
The estate has three villas with a combined interior space of roughly 1,800 m² (19,375 sq ft), including the main villa, Casa a Lago, and Casa Alta. The compound also includes a greenhouse and several warehouses.The primary residence extends over three levels and includes expansive terraces, a portico, and lake-facing reception rooms. Eleven bedrooms overlook the water.
The grounds comprise 13,000 square meters (3.2 acres) of landscaped parkland, meticulously maintained and extending directly to the shoreline. A lakeside swimming pool is positioned beneath mature trees near a historic greenhouse, reinforcing the estate’s relationship to the water.
Most notable is the scale of its frontage: over 320 meters (1,050 feet) of private Lake Como shoreline, including an enclosed boathouse and private harbor integrated into the waterfront. Properties with this degree of direct access and protected mooring infrastructure are increasingly rare along the central basin.
Inside, the villa retains distinctive personal elements tied to the Mylius family’s history. The entrance hall features preserved whalebone jaws from one of Herman Mylius’s expeditions, while the adjacent lake-facing library houses rare early editions of Punch, the English satirical magazine first published in 1841. These details underscore the property’s Anglo-Italian identity and continuity.
Held by the same family for sixty years, Villa Olivetta is now publicly offered for sale for the first time in six decades — a substantial historic estate occupying one of Menaggio’s most geographically prominent lakefront positions.
All photos belong to the listing agency.
