Full-Day Como Lake Private Road Trip from Milan

A charming town known for its enchanting position and the characteristic historic center, Bellagio is an exceptional tourist resort. The so-called "pearl of Lake Como" rises romantically on the tip of the promontory that divides the lake into the two branches of Como and Lecco, in an evocative landscape context. Colored houses, picturesque alleys, characteristic stairways, ancient churches make the old village a place of great charm. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, noble and wealthy Lombard bourgeois built there luxurious villas in which illustrious personalities, both Italian and foreign, found hospitality. Napoleon Bonaparte was a guest of Count Melzi d´Eril in Villa Melzi, a beautiful villa built in neoclassical style surrounded by a splendid English garden dotted with statues where the pianist and composer Franz Liszt loved to stop. Emperor Francesco I, Kaiser Guglielmo, Alessandro Manzoni instead, stayed in the ancient Villa Serbelloni, a beautiful complex immersed in a spectacular terraced park made up of paths, clearings, exotic plants and many rose gardens. Today the Villa belongs to the Rockefeller foundation in New York which has made it a center of studies and conferences.

In addition to the enchanting panoramas, Cernobbio is known for the presence of many prestigious villas. The imposing Villa Erba built in 1898 is an extensive complex consisting of a manor house, guesthouse, greenhouses, docks, stables, service houses, surrounded by a large park. Noble residence of the family of Luchino Visconti (the great director loved to spend summer holidays here), the villa is today an important congress center that hosts events and events. The most precious treasure of Cernobbio, however, is the sixteenth-century Villa d'Este (so renamed by the Princess of Wales, Carolina of Brunswick, in honor of its alleged Este origins), transformed in 1873 into a luxury hotel with princely furnishings and a beautiful garden Italian with lake view. Walking along the lake you can still admire, Art Nouveau Villa Bernasconi, Villa Pizzo formed by two buildings, one of which rises (Pizzo lower) on the lake, and the eighteenth-century Villa Fontanelle surrounded by a splendid park. ( all exterior only )

The most important center is Como, the city that gives its name to the lake, with its valuable monuments, the pretty old town and the suggestive views. If boats and hydrofoils are an excellent opportunity to admire the city and fully enjoy the beauty of the landscape.

Considered one of the most beautiful monuments in northern Italy, the Como Cathedral is a complex and articulated building, started in 1396 and completed in 1740 with the elevation of the dome by Filippo Juvara, architect of the King of Sardinia. The Gothic-style interior is divided into three naves divided by 10 pillars and retains numerous works of considerable importance. Among these: paintings by Bernardino Luini (Adoration of the Magi) and Gaudenzio Ferrari (Marriage of the Virgin and Flight into Egypt), Renaissance tapestries (some based on designs by Giuseppe Arcimboldi), the sixteenth-century altarpiece of Sant'Abbondio, protector of the city, the temple baptismal font from 1590 and the two Romanesque stylofori lions from the ancient church of Santa Maria.

Built in 1215, the Palazzo del Broletto is a splendid example of 15th century marble Gothic art. Initially it was the seat of the Palazzo Comunale, later it was used as a theater in the eighteenth century, as a state archive and is currently home to art exhibitions. The palace, located in the center of the city, represents the symbol of the municipal institutions that wanted to be placed in a strategic position of predominance between the Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace. ( exterior only )

Built at the end of the 11th century on the area of ​​the early Christian church dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a magnificent example of Lombard Romanesque architecture as well as a masterpiece of the Comacini masters, or of those masons - architects - sculptors who spread the Lombard style, not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. Built by Benedictine monks, the church dedicated to the fourth bishop of Como underwent significant alterations since the 16th century which altered its original appearance, fortunately recovered thanks to the restoration carried out in the 19th century.