While winter is in no hurry to come into its own in northern Italy, I continue to be inspired by last year's autumn pictures from Lake Como. Today I will show you the left arm of Como, on the shore of which is my favorite villa in Como, as well as the little-known village of Pigra, which offers magnificent views of the surrounding area.
Villa Carlotta is located in Tremezzo, but before getting there we wandered for a long time through the surrounding forests and mountains in search of some observation deck, from which, according to reviews, a magnificent view of the lake opens up. We never found the deck, but accidentally drove into the territory of some small hotel on a hill and walked around its territory, from which there really is a beautiful view. There are no passwords or addresses, I was never able to remember where it is. I only remember that we drove up for a long time from the next turn on the shore of the lake after Carlotta.
And here is the villa itself, built at the end of the 17th century by the Marquis Clerici. It was named in honor of the daughter of Princess Marianna, Carlotta of Prussia. Now the villa belongs to the Italian state and is open to visitors.
A cozy bench opposite the entrance:
The villa's greatest asset is its gardens. To be honest, most villas in Como and in Europe in general are quite monotonous within the same era, since wealthy people of that time tried to make everything luxurious, but within approximately the same framework. Since we are not deep connoisseurs of architecture and interiors, we usually spend more time in the gardens and on the surrounding area, which almost never disappoints. Specifically, Villa Carlotta has 500 different species of plants, my favorite azaleas 150 species, although to catch them in bloom, you need to come strictly in April - early May.
To walk around 8 hectares is, of course, a task. Our walk took more than an hour.
Autumn multi-colored forest – what could be more beautiful?
The most beautiful and interesting villa in Como, in my opinion, is Balbianello. It is located in Lenno, you can get there by a forest footpath (about 20 minutes, partly uphill), or by boat from the pier. We decided to walk there and then sail back.
The villa was built in the late 18th century for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini. It was then passed down through generations and resold several times until it came into the possession of a unique man and a colourful personality, Guido Monzino (a member of the family that founded the Standa corporation, a once-thriving chain of department stores later ruined by Berlusconi) in 1974. Before his death, Monzino bequeathed the villa to the Italian National Historic Preservation Authority, which still owns it today.
Source: travel.ru