After “Isola Madre”, the first part of the Haute Joaillerie collection that pays tribute to the Borromean Islands, like a return to Mellerio’s Italian roots (whose home village is just a few kilometers away as the crow flies), the second opus that Laure-Isabelle Mellerio has imagined in 2018 is dedicated to the spectacular, famous and aptly named “Isola Bella”.<\/p>\n
Chosen in the 17th century by the Borromeo family as an expression of their power and wealth, it is today one of the finest examples of Italian Baroque architecture and gardens. It took several waves of work, sometimes spanning more than 30 years between the 17th and 20th centuries, to turn this lakeside island into a veritable flagship erected to the glory of the Borromeo family. <\/p>\n
At the bow stands their monumental palace, and at the stern the sumptuous terraced gardens, at the top of which was built an imposing belvedere almost 40 metres high.<\/p>\n
Extraordinary architecture, visionary and daring design, importation of rare and faraway species, ingenious hydraulic systems… everything was done by the different generations of the Borromeo family to transform the natural qualities of a simple rock into an enchanted and sophisticated garden.<\/p>\n\n\t\t