Lake Como’s Most Celebrated Hoteliers Put Their Private Art Collection on Public View
The family behind Passalacqua unveils Casabianca, a stunning villa outfitted with visionary works, a delicious restaurant, and inspired suites
Italian hoteliers Antonella and Paolo De Santis are well-versed in the art of hospitality: They have owned and run the Grand Hotel Tremezzo for over 50 years and, alongside their daughter, Valentina, opened Passalacqua, a seductive 24-room hotel in a former late 18th-century villa continually ranked as one of the world’s best stays. Most recently, the trio channeled their skill into Casabianca, a contemporary art gallery on the shores of Lake Como.
“Our hope for anyone entering Casabianca is that they do so slowly, allowing themselves a sense of unhurried time to view the collection,” says Paolo. “We wanted to create somewhere visitors can truly unplug from the everyday routine.”
Built in the 1930s as the residence of the eminent Rosasco textile magnates, the building later housed the company’s office and a bank before the De Santis clan laid eyes on it in 2024. “Rather than turn it into a hotel, the idea was to transform it as an extension of my parents’ home to show the contemporary art they’ve been collecting since the 1980s,” says Valentina. “They’re both from Como and love the city like crazy, so this was their way of giving something back.”
Here, Paolo and Antonella have showcased around 50 much-loved artworks across 15 rooms and three floors. Incredible pieces—from Gilberto Zorio’s Stella Pozzuoli (1987) to the wild barbed wire head of Paete (2000) by Anselm Kiefer—reverberate against the exquisite backdrop of parquet floors, richly painted and carved wood-paneled walls, and ornate plasterwork ceilings. With collectible midcentury furnishings by Gio Ponti, Paolo Buffa, and Luigi Caccia Dominioni accentuated by sumptuous velvets, silks, and the warm glow of brass, the interiors themselves are as enchanting as the art.
According to Paolo, emotion is the essential starting point for a collection that encompasses American artist Joseph Kosuth’s Twenty Locations of Meaning (2015), which repeats the word meaning in 20 languages in neon, and Giulio Paolini’s Habitat (2025), a mixed-material work comprising four busts and a series of 17 photographs, incorporating one of the family’s cats. “We don’t choose a piece simply for the name it carries or its financial value, but for what it conveys,” says Paolo.
The personal connections continue, with Stefano Arienti’s Sassolini Verso Casa (2025) winding its way up the marble grand staircase. The rug was inspired by photographs the Milanese artist took of an early summer’s morning in the garden of the nearby De Santis family home, Villa Mondolfo. On a slim shelf, old books and small artworks that were in the house have become part of Untitled (Kong, Books, Sculpture, Head, Totem) (2024) by Haim Steinbach. “My father says the art and Casabianca are in constant conversation, even when no one else is here,” observes Valentina with a laugh.
On the ground floor, Cova, an all-day restaurant, includes a pasticceria with walls wrapped in a botanical installation by Francesco Simeti. Guests can also spend a night by reserving one of three new suites on the villa’s top floor. Decorated in the same convivial chic as the gallery, each room teems with 20th-century Italian design and installations by the likes of Simona Uberto, Aldo Spoldi, and Roger Selden.
“We love that behind each piece lies a story. We didn’t want to keep all this beauty to ourselves,” adds Antonella. Which is just another sign of what innately gracious hosts she and her family are.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Family Tradition.” Subscribe to the magazine.