The allure of Como lake

By looking at Lake Como on google map, you will immediately distinguish it from the other lakes of northern Italy for its inverted Y shape. Located approximately 31 miles from Milan, the lake is the third-largest Italian lake, after Maggiore and Garda. It is also the deepest, at 1,345 feet.

For centuries this lake, protected by promontories has fascinated vacationers from all over the world, and has been selected as the setting of famous movies.

Star Wars: Episode II was shot in Passalacqua near the town of Moltrasio, while Casino Royale was shot at Villa Balbianello, in Lenno. Going even further back in time, even Alfred Hitchcock shot the movie The Pleasure Garden at the seventeenth-century Villa d'Este.

Villa Balbianello

Villa Como


Not to mention the several famous artists in the world of music and literature that have found inspiration by this outstanding and unique territory. The most renowned among the Italian artists is the writer Alessandro Manzoni who has chosen the town of Lecco as the starting point of a series of events that came about in the celebrated novel I Promessi Sposi, pleasure and pain for many Italian students. Lecco has dedicated a museum to Manzoni.

The musician Vincenzo Bellini was inspired by the lake and here he composed his opera Norma. In order to complete the list of artists that found their magical inspiration at Lake Como, we also have to include musicians of the caliber of Gioacchino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi.

The charm of the lake lies in the diversity of landscape that it is possible to admire while navigating the lake from North to South and from side to side.

From the lake’s shores, it is enchanting to admire the numerous villages overlooking the banks, and the splendid historic villas surrounded by lush gardens, which in the past belonged to the Italian aristocracy, to the nobility from the bordering countries beyond the Alps, or to high prelates of the Vatican. One after the other, they encircle the lake since the 16th century.

Among these not to be missed is a visit to Villa Carlotta, along the coast of the village of Tremezzo, with terrace gardens and a museum boasting works by Canova, Hayez, and Thorvaldsen.

Villa Carlotta

At Bellagio, a lovely village with nice shops and restaurants on the shores of the lake, it is possible to find grand villas of absolute elegance, such as Villa Melzi, whose botanical park is an experience of beauty and relaxation, and Villa Serbelloni built in the XVI century, transformed into a hotel later on, and bought by Princess Ella Walker who left it in 1959 as an inheritance to the Rockefeller Foundation.

Today Villa Serbelloni is used as a residence and meeting place for scientists. Numerous renowned guests stayed at this villa, including Leonardo da Vinci, Lodovico il Moro, Cardinal Borromeo and Queen Vittoria. The gardens of Villa Serbelloni can be visited from April 1st to early November.

Today recognized as the internationally-known convention and expository complex, Villa Erba is one of the most important Italian lake villas of the nineteenth century.
Lying to the North is Ossuccio, beloved for its spectacular Isola Comacina, the lake’s only island and, thanks to the Sacro Monte di Ossuccio, also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Isola Comacina

Lake Como is for those who are in search of the perfect combination between charm and relaxation, or culture and contact with nature.

If you like to spend one week at the Como lake in a luxury villa for rent, or if you have chosen this breathtaking place for the celebration of your wedding, you can find here some good options.

Lake Como