From April 2 to December 8, 2026, Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina on Lake Como will host the exhibition Greetings from Villa Carlotta. Paper Souvenirs, Traveling Memories, an exhibition dedicated to historical postcards preserved in theHistorical Archives of the Villa. The exhibition presents a selection of specimens from a fund composed of more than four hundred postcards, dating from the first decade of the twentieth century to the end of the twentieth century. In some of them visitors’ handwritten messages are still legible, along with dates of mailing, stamps and postmarks, elements that document the circulation of these images and restore their variety.
The initiative is part of the bicentenary celebrations of the birth of Duke George II of Saxony-Meiningen (1826-2026), consort of Princess Charlotte and last owner of the villa before the establishment of the Villa Carlotta Trust. The exhibition opens to the public on April 2, 2026, on the duke’s birthday, in conjunction with celebrations held in Meiningen, Germany, the birthplace of George II.
The exhibition project is the result of research work conducted by trainees of the Advanced Training Course in Museum and Exhibition Curator of the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art and Performing Arts at Sapienza University of Rome, carried out in collaboration with the museums of the Lombard 19th century Network and the Villa Carlotta Institution. The material on display comes entirely from the institution’s Historical Archives and includes postcards produced by publishers active between Lake Como and Milan, including Brunner & Co., G. Modiano & C., the Stabilimento Arti Grafiche Alfieri & Lacroix, Fratelli Clerici and Arti Grafiche Sampietro.
Between the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, the picture postcard established itself as one of the main tools for disseminating the image of tourist places. At Villa Carlotta, archival records show that as early as 1907, during the ownership of Duke George II, photographic campaigns were commissioned for the production of postcards to be offered for sale to visitors. The images depicted various views of the property and garden, including the landing on the lake, the facade of the villa as seen from the water, the Citrus Terrace, the Pratone avenue with the Roccaglie and the Belvedere, as well as botanical details such as the Chile Palm.
George II, who devoted himself to the transformation and expansion of the park for over sixty years, considered photography a useful tool for documenting the interventions made on the property. His interest in the arts and theater influenced the conception of the garden and villa spaces, which over time also took on a representational function. The production of photographic images and their dissemination through postcards helped consolidate Villa Carlotta’s reputation as a destination for visits to Lake Como.
Hours:
Daily, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (last ticket at 6 p.m., museum closing at 6:30 p.m.)
Tickets:
full: €17.50
reduced: €15.00 (Over 65)
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| Como, Villa Carlotta exhibits historical postcards from its archives |
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