In Ossuccio, on the western shore of Lake Como, there is a unique architectural project of its kind, at least in Italy: the Velarca, a houseboat designed in 1959 by the BBPR studio (Gian Lugi Banfi, Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti and Ernesto Nathan Rogers) for the couple Fiammetta and Emilio Norsa. Donated to the FAI – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano in 2011 by their son Aldo and his wife Maria Luisa, the Velarca, after a long restoration, returned to its original position and was opened to the public.
In accepting this work, the BBPRs have recently completed the Torre Velasca in Milan, a work manifesto (not coincidentally, the name is also referred to by “Velarca”). Despite the difference in scale, all the details – the attention to the environment, the interpretation of the site, the quality of the design and the precision of the construction – make this project an architectural work in its own right. The idea is simple: to add a living volume to the hull of an old 19-meter-long Larian gondola, the “Corriera Tremezzina”, which has been crossing Lake Como since 1911, transporting goods and people, and was out of use at the time of the project.
Mr. and Mrs. Norsa wanted a place where they could receive, welcome and gather friends and acquaintances who had already visited their Milanese home, including great figures of Italian culture, starting with the Milanese architects Rogers, Peressutti and Belgiojoso themselves, but also Riccardo Sambonet, Gio Ponti, Gillo Dorfles, Eugenio Montale, Lucio Fontana, Umberto Eco, Cesare Musatti and others.
Donated to the FAI in 2011, it has undergone major restoration work. The hull, which could not be restored, has been reconstructed; all the interior details have been restored or integrated with the utmost fidelity to what was preserved or visible in period photos. Furnishings, functional details and even objects have been recovered or added to give the Velarca its original appearance and atmosphere of the past: next to the old Bakelite telephone is still Fiammetta Norsa’s address book.
A second pier has been added to the existing one for boats to connect with Villa del Balbianello, another FAI property and the setting of numerous films (from Star Wars: Episode II to 007 – Casino Royale). The Velarca is open to the public from Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
All images © Roberto Morelli courtesy FAI
