Villa Dell’Acqua has been built over several centuries. It started as two small and distinct separate buildings in the 16 hundreds, probably fishermen houses. There was a small path along the lake, thus the main entrances were on the western side of the buildings. There was no road on the eastern (back) side of the houses: the backyard was leading directly to the terraced orchard.
In the years, the two buildings were enlarged and then connected to form a “C” shape around the well that is still visible in the entrance room. The first description of the house dates back to 1828, when Giovanni Battista Battaglia died and left the house to his three sons. His testament is a detailed description of all the rooms, their location and their function. Essentially, the house had its current shape, and included also the northern section (today a separate house).
In 1838 a carriage road was built along the eastern shore of the lake, finally permitting the arrival of carriages and goods by ground. Orta needed a wider and better connection than the small path along the lake, and thus the current road (“stradun”) was built, cutting the backyards in two and removing the need for the path, which became part of the garden.
The Battaglia family sold the house to my great-uncle Angelo Dell’Acqua in 1871, and this is how our family got involved with Orta. Angelo was a wealthy man, improved and extended the house, and built the garage and the boathouse.
Five years later, a cousin lost a large amount of money playing cards. Uncle Angelo sold the northern section of the house and paid the debt. You can still see the frames of the doors that once led to the northern section.
