Villa Altachiara is a striking 19th-century mansion on the cliff edge below Castello Brown, built by the Earl of Carnarvon as a winter retreat. The villa is not open to visitors but is visible from the path up to the castle and from the harbour below — its pale terracotta façade and Liberty-style turrets stand out against the dark cypresses around it.
The villa is the most famous private house in Portofino, and its successive owners (English aristocrats, Italian industrialists) tell much of the post-1870 story of how the village became a playground for the wealthy.