Casa del Podestà Ugo da Como

The House of Podestà was built in the second half of the 15th century as headquarters of the representative of Venice, who was in charge of the control in the surrounding area. Lonato was under the Venetian republic for more than 350 years (1441-1796) and its government was interrupted only once and very shortly by the marquis Francesco Gonzaga (1509-1516). After Napoleon gave Venice to the Austrians, the House of the Podestà passed first to the Austrian public domain, which used the building as barracks, and then to the commune of Lonato, which didn't take care of the building at all. In 1906 the House was bought in a public auction by Ugo Da Como, who, conscious of the historical importance of the place, called the architect A. Tagliaferri (1835-1909) to restore it. His purpose was to give back the ancient dignity to the Venetian building and, as it was fashionable in those years, he furnished it as a house that looked more like a museum than a place to live in. Ugo Da Como and his wife Maria Glisenti spent their summers in this building and, visiting it, we can nearly exactly see the house as when they lived in it. The house is located in a charming group of buildings surrounding the stronghold and belongs to a private foundation requested by Ugo Da Como and set up in 1942.