Top of the World
In the dark green of the ancient trees of Via Catullo, in the heart of the Sirmione peninsula, you can see a beautiful yellow villa: the Villa that was once Maria Callas'. It was in fact for years the summer residence of the Veronese entrepreneur Giovan Battista Meneghini, but it is known for having hosted his wife, the opera star Maria Callas. Born in New York on December 2, 1923 and died in Paris on September 16, 1977, Maria Callas, who went down in history as a star of first magnitude in the firmament of opera, spent several periods in the 50s in Sirmione in the villa of her husband, the wealthy businessman Giovan Battista Meneghini. She didn't hide the pleasure that these stays gave her, far from the noise of the worldly life. Villa Maria Callas is located in the central Piazza Carducci in the historic center of Sirmione and has been renovated by the City of Sirmione to be used today to host exhibitions and major events. The chronicles of the time report that the villa, a three-storey building with twenty-one rooms spread over 780 square metres and furnished personally by Maria Callas, cost Meneghini sixty million lire. Meneghini arrived in Sirmione for the first time in 1952 and it is said that he loved this place, far from the limelight. Unfortunately, however, the villa became the scene of a heartbreaking farewell. Having fallen in love with the Greek ship owner Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas went with him to Sirmione to talk to Meneghini. It is said that a silent dinner was held, but this was followed by a furious quarrel and a tragic separation. Villa Meneghini-Callas was sold by the "commendatore" a few years later and dismembered into a series of private apartments.
