Villa La Gaeta

Villa La Gaeta is an early twentieth-century villa standing directly on the western shore of Lake Como at Acquaseria in the municipality of San Siro, Italy. The property takes its name from the small La Gaeta promontory on which it was built. An earlier and considerably more modest residence on the site belonged to Italian numismatist Solone Ambrosoli, whose family subsequently commissioned brothers Gino and Adolfo Coppedè to create the present villa. Completed by Ambrosoli’s heirs in 1921, the building is a particularly distinctive example of the eclectic architecture associated with the Coppedè studio, combining neo-medieval, Renaissance and Art Nouveau influences. Two asymmetrical towers dominate its lakeside profile, while pointed arches, exposed brickwork, stone, decorated plaster, loggias and ornamental details give the villa the appearance of a small fantasy castle. The surrounding grounds extend down to a private beach and boat access on Lake Como and were landscaped with Mediterranean and ornamental vegetation including cypress, cedar, palm and plane trees. The property was acquired by the Gerli family in 1940 and was later restored and divided into private apartments.

Villa La Gaeta has appeared in The Final Contract (1993) and Casino Royale (2006). In The Final Contract (1993), originally released as Due vite, un destino, the villa becomes the residence of the powerful Della Croce crime family and provides the setting for the violent climax of the story. Casino Royale (2006) uses the property as the Lake Como home of Mr White, with its lakeside grounds and entrance providing the setting for the film’s final scene and Daniel Craig’s first delivery of James Bond’s traditional introduction.

In The Final Contract (1993), originally released as Due vite, un destino, Villa La Gaeta represents Villa Della Croce, the luxurious residence belonging to the criminal Della Croce family. The two-part Italian television production follows Vietnam veteran David Sloane, who accepts an assassination assignment in Italy because he desperately needs money for his seriously ill wife. His mission draws him into a complicated conflict involving police commissioner Luca Calarno, the Della Croce organisation and American drug trafficker Frank Argento. Villa La Gaeta becomes particularly important towards the end of the story when Argento arrives at the Della Croce residence and the competing factions converge on the property. David and Calarno are already nearby as the confrontation develops into a gun battle involving the crime family’s men. David ultimately sacrifices himself to save Calarno during the violence, while the remaining members of the criminal organisation are confronted in and around the villa. The location’s towers, lakeside position and secluded grounds give the Della Croce family an appropriately imposing residence and make the climactic shootout visually very different from the predominantly urban Milan locations used elsewhere in the production.

In Casino Royale (2006), Villa La Gaeta becomes the home of Mr White and provides the setting for the final scene of Daniel Craig’s first film as James Bond. Following Vesper Lynd’s death in Venice, Bond discovers information that allows him to trace Mr White, one of the figures behind the organisation that manipulated both Le Chiffre and Vesper. The film cuts to Mr White arriving at his secluded Lake Como residence, with an aerial view establishing Villa La Gaeta and its prominent position beside the water. As he walks across the grounds, his mobile phone rings. The caller is Bond, although White does not initially know who is speaking. A concealed Bond suddenly shoots him in the leg, leaving White wounded on the gravel outside the villa. White attempts to crawl towards the entrance and reaches the steps leading to the house, where Bond’s shoes appear in front of him. The camera finally reveals Bond standing above the injured man with a gun in one hand and the telephone in the other. When White asks who he is, Bond answers, “The name’s Bond. James Bond,” before the James Bond theme begins and the film cuts to the closing credits. The exterior, grounds and entrance steps seen in the sequence are the real Villa La Gaeta, making the building the location for one of the defining moments of the Daniel Craig era.

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