Lake Como, the lake of villas: the back story

About Lake Como, the lake of villas: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Lake Como Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y: Como sits at the foot of the south-western arm, Lecco at the foot of the south-eastern, and Bellagio on the point where they meet. Its shores are lined with villas built by Milanese nobles and cardinals from the 16th century onwards, many now open to visitors, and its towns are linked by the boats of Navigazione Laghi.

The villas of Tremezzina

The Villa del Balbianello, on its peninsula at Lenno, belongs to the FAI: a Franciscan convent stood here from the 13th century, Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini made it his retreat at the end of the 18th, and Guido Monzino left it to the FAI, which has run it since 1988. Along the shore, the Villa Carlotta, built at the end of the 17th century by the Clerici marquises, holds masterpieces by Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen in a botanical garden.

Bellagio and Varenna

At Bellagio, the gardens of Villa Melzi, laid out between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d’Eril, run along the shore to the little port of Loppia. Across the water at Varenna, the Villa Monastero, owned by the Province of Lecco, is a house museum with a botanical garden stretching for nearly two kilometres along the lake; above the town, the Castello di Vezio keeps watch.

Plan the day around the boats: the car ferry links Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Varenna and Menaggio.

Como

Como’s cathedral, begun in 1396, stands in the walled town; the funicular, opened in 1894, climbs from the lakefront to Brunate, and the Villa Olmo looks back across the first basin of the lake.

The upper lake

North of Menaggio and Varenna the lake widens towards Gravedona, Domaso and Colico, with the Alps closing in; the Sacro Monte of Ossuccio, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2003, rises above Tremezzina.

Our advice: visit the villas early or late in the day, and check each one’s season: most close in winter.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Lake Como, the lake of villas: the back story before you go.