Background
Troubetzkoy was born in Tulcin in 1822.
Troubetzkoy was born in Tulcin in 1822.
In 1844 he was appointed governor of Smolensk, and Orel. In 1865 he went to Florence (Italy) on a diplomatic mission which included the supervision of the Russian church there. In Florence he met Ada Winans, an American lyric singer, and with her moved to Ghiffa on Lake Maggiore.
Keen on botany, Piotr found in Ghiffa the best place to develop an important botanic garden and build his residential Villa.