Palace Hotel Villa Cortine, Lake Garda, Italy

"Penisularum Sirmio insularunque ocelle", Catullus’s verse which exalts Sirmione as a jewel of islands and peninsulas, is witnessed within and outside of Hotel Villa Cortine. It exudes an atmosphere of magic that maintains the Latin flavour of sojourning in the Villa, providing an exclusive holiday in which to enjoy the surroundings and completely relax.

The Grand Hotel, unique for its tranquillity, first-class service and comfort, has a long history. In 1860 the park was purchased by Count Kurt Von Koseritz, Minister of Anait, a German Duchy, together with his sister Toni. In 1890, the Count bought the whole hill, which has been known as Villa Cortine ever since. In the course of the centuries it had been a convent named after Saint Julia, built under the rule of Queen Anne of the Longobards; later it became a garrison and the centre for encampments.

Von Koseritz was 62 when he ordered the work for the construction of the Villa to be started. As was the practice of the country towards the end of the 1800's, the front of the Villa was in a rigorous neoclassical style, with great columns supporting the portico-facade. In 1952, two architects Cassi and Remella built the big building that makes up the main body of the luxurious hotel. Sir Giampietro Ghidini, a highly successful manufacturer in the copper line, also an art lover, is now the new owner of the historical Hotel Villa Cortine having bought it from the Signori family. Ghidini has devoted himself to the improvement of the Villa, succeeding in restoring the paintings, the mosaics and beamed ceilings to their original splendour.