The Villa d’Este is probably one of the most famous of the villas on Lake Como. Just about all walks around the town lead to it. The villa was built for Cardinal Gallio, the Secretary of State to Pope Gregory XIII, in the late 16th Century. During the 18th Century an Austrian commander-in-chief was here and it probably played a part in the intrigues of the Austrian occupation. Sometime later Caroline of Brunswick, who was the wife of the British Prince of Wales George Frederick and who later became George IV, also lived here.
