Piemonte, Italy’s North West
Vila Crespi or Vila Pia, a late 19th-century Moorish palace, complete with a minaret, a striking castle-like building surrounded by parkland overlooking Lake Orta, just east of the town of Orta San Giulio. It was built in 1879 by Cristoforo Benigno Crespi (1833-1920), a successful Italian cotton merchant who built a home here as a tribute to the East. During the 1930s it was a spiritual retreat with the Italian King, Umberto of Savoy, a regular guest. It is now a small luxury hotel and restaurant.
Photo by Ludo Kuipers, Fri Nov 18, 1994