Situated near the centre of Bergamo, but born as a country estate, Villa Grismondi Finardi owes its present name to the Grismondi family, who lived there in the eighteenth century and to the Finardi who came to own it in the middle of the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century the surrounding fields were transformed into a garden quarter. The present building still shows the eighteenth century appearance of both a resort and an old farm house with stables and wine-cellars surrounding a rustic courtyard. “Il Palazzo”, such is the denomination in the old maps, was restored between 1855 and 1858 by the architect Giacomo Bianconi, who left the exterior sober and essential in sharp contrast to the pompous internal decorations. The drawing-rooms on the lower floor have pavilion vaulted ceilings decorated by Scrosati with draped ornaments, precious stones, medallions with “genre” scenes, frames of bucolic landscapes, musical instruments and putti. The furnishings, the objects and the portraits of different eras adorning the walls, are attributed to the Finardi family, which still lives in the villa today. The spacious gardens extending around the building are characterized by an English nineteenth century structure, with a grotto and a rose-garden, set-up by Bianconi himself, and fenced at the rise of the Quartiere Finardi.