Lake Como - Bellagio

It's one of those places...once I've spied its progeny (Las Vegas), I made a silent pledge to one day seek outs its provenance. The opportunity presented itself this year on the second leg of our summer trip. After our goodbyes with the kids in Barcelona, the historic village of Bellagio in Lombardy, became our destination. Short flight on Ryan air to Bergamo airport in Milan to meet up with pre-booked taxi ride to the tip of a hilly promontory between the two southern branches of a Y shaped elongated lake ...many dubbed it 'Pearl of Lake Como'...one cannot contest that moniker!

The marvel of the world wide web is the accessibility to pertinent travel info when one is inclined to plan ahead. We were truly happy during the 7 day stay at the historic Hotel Metropole. Our double french door walkout porch balcony room ( as marked in heart shape below) was spacious and sooo central to virtually everything. 

The location seriously cannot be beat & the value is there especially in comparison to some alternate hotels nearby. Since the early 1830's, rudimentary inn to hotel Genazzini to present day...all who stayed here must have marveled at the genius loci of its porch covered terrace views  

Right by the water's edge, from our balcony walk out one is literally led to the shores of Lago di Como presenting a fabulous view that is at once Alpine & Mediterranean. No wonder poets (Henry Longfellow), pianists ( Frank Liszt ), composers (Richard Wagner), writers (Mark Twain, Ernst Hemingway, John Irvin) through the ages had come here, got inspired & paid their compliments to the grandeur and sweetness of this locale's inexhaustible ability to delight 

Le Metropole had not only history but beauty and practicality, ferry dock was right by the hotel ..I was initially concerned whether that would mean excessive noise levels, but it was not at all bothersome, even towards dusk or evening hours

Day 2:@Villa Melzi the past enclave of aristocrats:Count Francesco Melzi & the Austrian Emperor 

an easy walk from our hotel, I Giardini di Villa Melzi is a historical museum which is stunning in its utmost simplicity and harmonious neoclassical style. 

the best example of tranquility ...one approaches the estate along a boulevard lined with umbrella shaped sycamores. Scattered amongst the trees are a variety of Egyptian, Roman-Etruscan, renaissance and neoclassical sculptures. The complex was once the estate of vice president of the Italian Republic with Napoleon - a small museum beside the artificial grotto holds several Napoleonic artefacts.

It'd be wise to give oneself ample time to linger in the gardens of Melzi estate... there is a Japanese style lake of waterliies and several charming paths that leads you to magnificient plants of orange groves, giant azaleas, magnolias and rhododendrons...we actually purchased a ticket that permited a two day vistation... made for excellent afternoon stolls since we were situated so closeby 

Just south of the estate Melzi is the parish of San Giovanni,  which is easy to reach via a short boat ride. We continued our explorations along narrow cobbled lanes and huge harbor walls, taking a dip by the waters edge with the ducks before the skies turned grey. I recall we hiked back to our hotel during intermittent droplets of rain  ducking into a wine shop to sample and buy local bottle of red for our evening meal.

Back to our room with some light dinner & aperitif beside this tranquile lake as the rains cleared

Day 3: Next morning, after a breakfast buffet on the covered porch of Le Metropole, we boarded the nearby ferry to Lenno where a transfer to public taxi (7.5 euro) can be obtained to our destination for the day - Villa del Balbianello

From the ferry dock we walked along the coastal trail to the opposite end of the commune - en route it was tough not to linger over quite a long line of stalls displaying the latest summer fashion and an assortment of fruits & treats...

its about a 20 min easy path to the public taxi . There is climbing option from Lenno, but we understood it to be quite hilly ...better to relegate more time to spend in tour of the villa grounds, thus we decided to forego on that hike  

The Villa was originally built in 1787 on the site of a monastery, no surprise ...aren't the best lots not always thus back then ?

Right on the tip of a high rocky promontory with commanding view of the western shores of Lake Como and Isola Comacina.  

Villa Balbianello has been the site of several notable movie scenes - Casino Royale, Star Wars (the wedding scene) in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Given the romantic flare of the entire property, it is no wonder it is rented out still for wedding venues since 2005. Our tour guide mentioned that a 30 min ceremony will cost 2500 euros and 20,000 euros for a daylong event, not including any food or aperitif ... 😲

By the end of the 20th C, the villa came under the ownership of the National Trust of Italy after the last owner, Guido Monzini, a great Italian explorer died without issue in 1988 and donated Villa del Balbianello to FAI


This central loggia was the preeminent gathering spot, I could imagine, whenever the villa hosted great leaders & intellectuals of its time


The villa has seen several owners since its inception in 18th C where Cardinal Angelo Durini built the ancient Franciscan monastery.  In the 19th C, after the cardinal's death, it became the property of Count Luigi Lambertenghi, his grandson. Afterwards, it was purchased by Marquis Giuseppe Visconti whose son later made some improvements to the gardens and loggia, but the decline of the noble family in 1919 later led to the purchase by Butler Ames, an american soldier and businessman, who restored the Villa to its original splendor. It was in 1974, that Ames' heirs gave it to the famous entrepreneur and explorer Guido Monzino, its last private occupant

Picture perfect from every angle...the trick is to find one framing out passerbys or avoid split second photobombs ...lol

Monzini embellished the villa with 17th & 18th English& French furnishings, many glass paintings and a rich collection of ethnic sculptures and artifacts acquired through his expeditions. He was most famous as leader of the first Italian expedition to Mount Everest. A glass pavilion on site shows a movie about the story of Monzini 

The prominent Loggia Segre arches, delicately laced with small-leaved ficus pumila is flanked by two halls available to tour. One a library and the other a map room connected by this open air arcade of full wall windows offering heartstopping views in two directions : the wider Gulf of Diana, the opposing side the lovely Gulf of Venus and town of Bellagio 

This region known as Tremezzina along the western banks of Lake Como comprises of 4 communes : Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio, Tremezzo. 

After leaving Villa Balbianello in Lenno, it was a short ferry to Tremezzo and surroundings

Tremezzo is a hamlet directly in front of Bellagio with a fantastic ancient tower, and remains of the old medieval fortresses. The topography of these villages always seem to posses twin souls, coastal and hilly, both offering interesting albeit differing journeys. Below the lofty Grand Hotel ...no time to loiter for a peak at the moment ...just a walk on by 🎵🎶

We planned  Villa Carlotta as todays's second stop and arrived there just as the afternoon sun was starting to dip by the horizon, thus we decided to roam its huge park  and botanicals before dusk settled in.
This whole site was part of a vast project since the end of 17th C but it really blossomed as Princess Marianne of Orange-Nassau (Netherland / Prussia) bought the villa as a wedding gift to her daughter Charlotte when she married Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meniningen. In the mid 1800s, Charlotte was highly eligible , due to her Dutch fortune. The couple shared many interests, particularly theater, musical instruments and composing.. as evidenced in the upper rooms of the opulent villa. 

Its original hand-painted coffered ceilings were marvelous to behold. Detailed mahogany woodwork, marble statuary, original lighting fixtures all wrap one up with its period sense of romance enjoyed by the likes of the nobility back in the ages. 
However, as idyllic as it were, tragedy can still invade any sanctuary - Charlotte and Georg's union was purportedly a love match - 4 children. However, their second son died at the age of 2 and three months later, Charlotte followed him, dying of childbirth complications at age 30. Georg was inconsolable but did eventually remarry to provide a mother to his children.

Too exhausted now to stand.. as I sit on the stone facade of the Tremezzo dockside longing for ferry transport back to our lovely home base ... Le Metropole 

Day 4: Before setting out to tour the nearby town of Mennagio, we walked up to the top terrace of Le Metropole after our breakfast for a gander of lake views from a four storey height  - awesome...Then it was off to the ferry docks!

Debarking the ferry at Mennagio, the promenade along the lake front is another slice picturesque charm. We walked along shops to the edge of Piazza Garibaldi, lined with such colorful patio cafes that we vowed to return once our stomachs again  beaconed..

Being mid July, the lavendar season was in full swing and several of these kiosks were filling the air with its calming scent

We reluctantly left the shores of Menaggio to board the ferry to neighboring Varenna for a tour of the famed Villa Monastero. It's origin was indeed ancient, going back to 1208 when a Cistercensian monastery, Santa Maria, was built. Sold in 1569 to the Mornico family who built a villa. Much additions made in the 19th C and since 1953 has been an international cultural and scientific centre, in particular of Physics.



The villa sits on a terraced garden planted by Austrian, Walter Kress, in the 20thC. He also added a waterfront loggia and a Morrish pavilion ...all adding to an eclectic and tranquil landscape that hugs the shores of lago como that is both exotic and mediterranean

loved the central twisted columns on lake balustrade fronting the House Museum and exhibit rooms

The House Museum's 14 rooms can be visited for a modest fee. It doubled as an international conference center in the past as the Nobel prize winner Enrico Fermi held some lessons & workshops. Every year still, the Italian Society of Physics organize its prestigious courses...I gather at the modern adjoining complex by the arched cement loggia at the entry to the gardens  

The Villas' ~2 km garden path is a joy to traverse.... so many varieties are encountered along the stretch of coastal and higher terraced grounds meandering along the waterfront towards Fiumelatte, which we did not have time to visit.  
The African palms, agaves, yuccas, dracaenas, citrus trees, oleanders are just some of the botanical species place together ...we also found the grounds to be sparsely travelled, adding to the contemplative mood this area ellicits

Onwards and upwards for another climb/hike... by now, being mid afternoon,  I was slowing down & straggling a bit ... missing the cool shades of the Monastero gardens... whilst Tom studied the best route to take to scale the heights to Castello di Vezio 

A bit of respite before the real dirt path hike - we found a midway rest point by the enclosed balcony of Albergo Eremo Gaudio offering panoramic view of mountains and lakes...plus some powerful fans to cool us off 💦

Castello de Vezio dates all the way back to the 11th C...it also played its part of defense during the first world war to halt German invasions southward from Switzerland.
The hike leads visitors past a rural house garden and a group of birds of prey, raised by a local falconer.
Archeological finds shows the lake once was home to an extinct sea reptile from the Middle Triassic period, Lariosaurus first discovered in Perledo @1830

No doubt this was the highest point in Varenna...views are spectacular Our decent down from the hilltop was interesting as it entailed a different route whereby you actually hike through a quaint, old town - that seemed virtually abandoned, except the houses did seem well kept and one elder lady with a walking stick actually popped out of her front door to motion to us the correct way as we stopped to study Tom's 'mapme' app to deciper the best paths to the village

As we promised to do, once our sightseeing escapades for the day was completed, we treated ourselves to the beauty of Menaggio again ..first a cooling gelato by the Piazza Garibaldi and then onto the waterfront for mouthwatering sustenance...we were famished!

It is said Menaggio is the second most visited resorts on the shores of Lake Como. Given the pretty cliffside homes and endearing waterfront cafes, we can certainly vouch for its allure. 
The afternoon setting sun, illuminating the solitary local fisherman, casting his line off the promenade terrace, gave us the air of leisure cadence as we savored dinner elfresco amist softly waning light. Instead of dessert, as Tom enjoyed his apres dinner coffee, I opted to take my 'half cup' dip into the bay fronting the osteria ... tempted to just settle in forever and call this place home ... perchè no signora ?

More captivating views of Varenna from the lake ferry pulling out to return to our town of Bellagio 

Day 5: another stunning morning view from our terrace as we ready to go forth to explore the tip of Bellagio pennisula Punta Spartivento - literally "the point that divides the wind" or right at the "crotch of the walking man"..hehe, as visually Lake Como can be imagined as a pair of legs 

We had planned to devote most of today to the estate of Serbelloni and its extensive park & gardens, notable as well for its association for international agricultural works with the Rockefeller Foundation. But unfortunately, we were told the spring storms two weeks ago earlier wrecked havoc to the villa park and the tours are temporarily suspended ... this is just a pic of the Villa Serbelloni hotel terrace view.. Despite its manicured grounds and lavish poolsides, its views do not surpass the simplicity of Le Metropole, I daresay...lol

Since our plans to tour Villa Serbelloni were thwarted, the next best thing is to gaze out from the most picturesque patio blanketed with wisteria vines...part of the Florence hotel adjacent to VS estate

sublime setting, succulent food, solicitous service...molto bene !

As with any trip alongside my partner in crime...ACTION is on order after the sumptuous meal! Given the balmy clear air, Tom reserved a boat in town for an excursion around the elongated tress of Lario Como (in Latin)

Glad we did this ... he picked a relatively calm day on the waters. Lake Como, being the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore is one of the deepest lakes in Europe at more than 200 metres (660ft) below sea level. Of glacial origin, its Y shape was acquired during  formation in the Ice Age - its close to 30 miles long and 3 miles wide. 

We couldn't resist a dip in the blue waters off the shores close to Villa Balbianello ...later we whizzed by the town of Laglio, where Clooney's famous Villa L'Oleandra nestles in green groves. He was said to have purchaed it from the Heinz family and conducted extensive renovs...We decided to forego a visitation, given they are probably way too busy with their newly arrived twin bundles of joy 😉 ..lol

Other notable celebrities along the shores are Richard Branson's villa La Cassinella residing on the same pennisula as Balbianello

Our three hour tour of Lago di Como took us to the most southern tip - town of Como. No time to go ashore but we'll save it for next time. Como is known for its history of silk industry and is situs of the most majestic Villa Olmo with art expositions..purportedly its entrance is free :)

How time flies!  We need to get back to Bellagio...but no sighting of Lake Como's sea monster, called Lariosauro aka Larry for short..lol. Due to its deep depth, Lake Como retains the local myth of a living prehistoric lizard akin to Scotland's Nessie, after its fossil was discovered at Perdelo in 1830 

An evening serenade by the local mens choir by the edge of Punta Spartivento

Just soaking in the night scene on our open aired balcony ...bellisimo buona notte 🌟🌘

Day 7: to car or no car? its our last full day in Bellagio and the dilemma as to how best to utilize it 

 I opted to forego Tom's more exploratory ambitions - a car rental to drive up the mountains surrounding the lake region....mainly because I knew from prior research any such drives worthy of the effort would lead to Lake Lugano, or Lake Maggiore and town of Stresa ...yet that's a bit ambitious as it almost gets us to another future itinerary which ideally would include Lake Garda as well. So we agreed finally to have a relaxing day to immerse fully in town & sample some shoppes we've only just window browsed. Time to also allow a stroll within the Bellagio city park with its lush greenery covered stone benches and a ride on its trolley to the highest point of town for a gorgeous hilltop view 

...mmm yumy ...mucho, mucho pasta...getting our fill 😋😚

Relaxing afternoon beer ....It was good to stay close to our hotel on the last day in this slice of paradise of Lombardy...just soaking it all in prior to our 'arrivederci' ... literally not before too long hopefully :) 

Our last dinner on the Terraza Metropole ...after all our visitations of nearby towns, we are still most capitivated by this spot on the lake where a distant flowing mountainous silhouette seem to melt into the clouds