Few of the world’s top travel destinations have a pedigree like that of Lake Como. This beauty spot in the north of Italy, 40 km away from Milan, has attracted and enchanted visitors for more than 2000 years, from the days of ancient Rome via the Romantic Age to the modern world.
Lake Como was also one of the mandatory stops on the European Grand Tour in the days when foreign travel was reserved for the wealthy and privileged.
The Supreme and Perfect Beauty of Lake Como
The Romantic poets in particular were enraptured by the lake’s beauty. “Is this a dream? Will it all vanish into air? Is there a land of such supreme and perfect beauty anywhere?” Longfellow mused, and Wordsworth likened the lake’s “serene accord of forms and colours” to the beauty of virtue, goodness and love, “or the remembrance of a generous deed, when God, the giver of all joy, is thanked religiously, in silent blessedness”.
Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley liked Lake Como so much – “it exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty”, the poet wrote in a letter to a friend – that they planned to stay for good and to buy a house on its shores. (Eventually, however, they settled on the Riviera, although Mary Shelley came back “in spirit” when she chose Lake Como as the backdrop for scenes in Frankenstein and another of her novels.)
The most important thing about Lake Como that visitors need to bear in mind is that the lake may not be particularly impressive in size, it just about scrapes into the list Europe’s Top 100 (in Finland alone, you can find 30 larger ones), but that it has a relatively long shoreline of 160 km.
This unusual ratio of size and perimeter is due to the lake’s elongated three-pronged shape, which appears to be echoed in unexpected places on the shore.
Lake Como’s long shoreline also serves to disperse its visitors. No matter how crowded it may be in some of the lakeside towns and villages, there is always a place that you can make entirely your own.
This use of the lake as a refuge has a long pedigree, too: Franz Liszt, the Mick Jagger of 19th century music, came here to conduct one of his many illicit love affairs, and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton chose Lake Como to hide away from the paparazzi’s prying eyes in the early days of their relationship.
For visitors who come here to see rather than not to be seen, however, the long shoreline of the lake is the problem rather than the solution. With so much to see and so many places to go to, where do you start?
We suggest to proceed straight to the heart of the matter, the glittering gem in the middle of the lake: the small town of Bellagio …
… which has so little in common with its namesake in Las Vegas that one cannot help wondering why the owners of the Nevada hotel would want to invite the comparison.
In short: Bellagio, Italy, may have no dancing fountain, but beats its titular twin hands down in the “urban scenery” department (there are some highly picturesque side streets) …
… as well as in the “natural beauty” stakes. If you don’t believe us: walk down the scenic road that leads to the place where the three branches of Lake Como meet and see for yourself.
No matter where on the lake you are based, there are two ways of getting to Bellagio: one by bus and the other by boat, and while Route One provides you with scenic balcony views (particularly on the last stretch from Como) …
… Route Two puts you right in the middle of things, giving you an opportunity to take a closer look at the villas for which the lake is so famous …
… and at the picturesque little towns that are dotted alongside its shoreline.
These two trips are worthwhile activities of their own and can best be likened to the first and the third acts in a drama: we suggest to start with the bus journey, a grand introduction where the themes are presented in their raw form, and to return to your base by boat, developing these themes in detail to give them more roundness. In between, as a second act intermezzo, we suggest a lovely walk.
Once you have explored the small centre of Bellagio, go to the Chiesa di San Giorgio on the southern end of the town. On the other side of the street from the church, walk into the path called the Salita Cappuccini …
… that will soon begin to tease you with splendid views of Lake Como’s southeastern branch, which is also known as Lake Lecco.
This is where the river that enters Lake Como in the north near Colico passes on its way into the Adda, a tributary of the Po. (The Como branch of Lake Como is essentially a dead arm.)
Eventually, the Salita Cappucini will take you to an isolated small marina …
… which feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of the more crowded places on the lake. We are only a short walk away from Bellagio – and already the idea of Lake Como as a refuge is beginning to take shape.
For your walk back up to town, we suggest you take a slightly different route, climbing the Vicolo Streccetta …
… which will lead you back to the high street, approx. 100 metres to the south of the Chiesa di San Giorgio. Take your time, but make sure you return to the ferry terminal in time, …
… for an unstressful return to your base.
Bear in mind: there are many other things to see around Lake Como, and you will need to be well rested for the next stage of your trip.
