Bellagio was built below a medieval fortress that capped its hill (today is is the Villa Serbelloni Park). The town’s chic image was stoked by the Rockefellers (who purchased Villa Serbelloni in 1927) and by John F. Kennedy (who visited in 1961).
The harborfront is mostly fancy shops and cafes designed for us visitors. Explore the steep-stepped lanes rising from the harborfront.
Piazza della Chiesa, near the top of town, has an 11th-century church that’s worth a look. It’s dedicated to Saint James and has a dark, typically Romanesque interior with small windows, a marble pulpit carved with symbols of the four evangelists, and a golden altarpiece under glittering mosaics.
Looking back at Varenna from the Lake, you’ll see Vezio Castle rising above the town, with new Varenna on the left (bigger buildings and modern ferry dock) and old Varenna on the right (tighter, more colorful buildings). The big development high on the hillside is an ugly example of cronyism (without the mayor involved, this would never have happened).
Under the castle is a grove of olives – reputedly the northernmost owns grown in Italy. Because the lake is protected from the north wind, exotic flowers grow well in the lake’s many find gardens.
To the right of the castle are the town cemetery, a lift up to Hotel Eremo Gaudio (a former hermitage), and a spurt of water gushing out of the mountainside just above lake level. This is the tiny Fiumelatte, Italy’s shortest river.
Heading towards Bellagio – The Swiss Alps rise to the north. Directly across the lake from Varenna is Menaggio, and just over the ridge from there are Lugano and the “Swiss Riviera”
The winds alternate between the north and south. In preindustrial times, traders harnessed the wind to sail up and down the lake. Notice the V-shaped, fjord-like terrain. Lake Como is glacier cut. And, at more than 1,200 feet deep, it’s Europe’s deepest lake. You’ll cruise past the Punta Spartivento, the bulbous point that literally “splits the wind” and where the two “legs” of the lake join.
Approaching Bellagio – Take a look at the park at Punta Spartivento – it’s a pleasant walk from town. Bellagio has three times the number of hotel rooms as Varenna, as you can see upon approach.
The town, with its strip of swanky hotels, is bookended by Grant Hotel Villa Serbelloni (five stars) on the left, dominating the lakefront, and the sprawling Grand Hotel Bretange (four stars) on the right.
In the 19th century, aristocratic Russian hung out in the Serbelloni, and well-heeled English chose the Bretange. These days, the Serbelloni is the second-most luxurious hotel on the lake after Villa d’Este, while Bretange is mired in a long renovation project.
Villa Carlotta – Because of lake taxes and high maintenance costs, owners of once-elite villas have been forced to turn them into hotels or to open their doors to the paying public. Since 1927, this has been an example of the latter.
One of the finest properties on the lake, Villa Carlotta has some good Neopclassical sculpture (including works by Canova) and one of the lake’s lushest gardens.
Tremezzo – Leaving the dock, notice the Grand Hotel Termezzo, with its striking Liberty Style (Art Nouveau) façade and swimming pool floating on the lake. Above the town is a villa built in the 19th-century Romantic Age to resemble a medieval castle.
After the Tremezzo stop – and just before ethe Tremezzo church – you’ll see a public park with a fountain and balustrade. Here the lake is dotted by a string of old villas with elegant landings and gated boathouses. Built in the days before motors, these are now too small for most modern lake boats.
Lenno – This pleasant resort town – with a long, arching bay sheltering lots of little docks, and a generously shaded promenade – is the boat’s last stop.
