Lake Como

Lake Como has always been a symbol of Art Nouveau elegance with its ports, villas and wonderful gardens.

In Tremezzo la, the neoclassical Villa Carlotta with its rhododendrons and azaleas which in spring offer tourists unparalleled glimpses of colour, Villa Serbelloni a Bellagio, the pearl of the lake, where Leonardo da Vinci, the poet Giuseppe Parini and Queen Victoria stayed in its rooms. TheVilla Melzi Gardens, Villa Balbianello, in Lenno, with its garden and its loggia.

Without to forget Pionawith its Cistercian Abbey, a living example of Lombard Romanesque architecture, the splendid Varenna with its coloured houses, the lovers’ walk overlooking the lake and castel of Vezio, Bellano with its “ravine” a natural gorge formed over 15 million years ago or the small village of Nesso with its suggestive waterfall.

But also, the Comacina Island, the only one in the Lario, with the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Maddalena or the Sacro Monte of Ossuccioincluded in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

There are many, very varied, things to see and do on Lake Como. Among the many walking routes, perhaps the best known are the Greenwayand the“sentiero del viandante” (wayfarer’s path) but there are many possibilities for excursions and trekking such as those proposed within the “Pian di Spagna” Nature Reserve.

As tourist promotion sites suggest, Lake Como is also famous among cinema lovers who can visit the sets of some scenes from Star Wars, Ocean’s Twelve and Casino Royale.

For us, the choice of location was dictated not only by the beauty of the landscape, by its location, central to Lombardy and easily reachable by friends from beyond the Alps, but above all by its history which is closely linked to that of the motor industry Italian. Mandello del Lario home, still today, of “Moto Guzzi” or the proximity of Arese home of “Alfa Romeo” and Arcore where “Gilera” were produced, but also of the importance that, over the decades, Lake Como has played in the lives of many people who moved to experience a different day, away from work and full of beauty and fun.

The lake has always been a privileged destination for “trips out of town” for entire generations.Starting from the teens’ “escapes” with a “Vespa” or a “Lambretta” for a Sunday getaway by the lake, to get to real parades on its narrow streeets with vehicles that only a few could afford, “Alfa Romeo”, “Lancia”, “Ferrari”, “Mercedes”. Who hasn’t found themselves admiring parades of convertibles or motorcyclists riding on the narrow, winding coastal roads in love with the landscape? Lake and motors, a perfect combination that has always been.

Mirror that reflects the beauty of the mountains, Lake Como has witnessed the stories that have intertwined on its shores. With its easily accessible position, it attracted not only Italian but also foreign tourists who, especially from northern and central Europe first and then from America and Japan, came and continue to come to admire one of the best preserved Art Nouveau windows in the world.

In our country there are many beauties, as the excellences of technique and design.For many decades the engines of Italian motorcycles have demonstrated their technical value on tracks all over the world, often winning the main races. And prestigious car brands have commissioned Italian designers to shape the bodywork of their custom-built cars.

You can understand why the “curves of the lake” have always been the perfect stage for parading with the most beautiful cars or interpreting trajectories with the most high-performance motorbikes. It is natural that they have becomeone of the favorite route of those who, starting from abroad, attracted by the performance and beauty of Italian vehicles, come down to visit the “Bel Paese”, perhaps to buy a car, and remaining dazzled by the beauty of the views decide to stay for a vacatin or establish here a summer home..

It would be nice to imagine that, as has happened to everyone, stopping to observe the waves rippling the waters of the lake, he could tell us the infinite stories he has collected over the decades. This is why Belle Èpoque Lake Comoimmediately felt at ease on the shores of the lake.

A scenography that mixes the beauty of the panorama, with the architectural heritage and the stories that involve historical vehicles and which, through cars and motorbikes, combined with vintage clothing, tries to revive a day dedicated to those stories . The stories, which participants and public can exchange, promoting motoring culture, having as a meeting point the historical vehicles and the real adventures of which they were protagonists.

Maybe one day the lake will tell, smiling, about a group of people who for one day a year made it relive the memory of a past time, in which everything was slower, on a human scale, romantic, suited to beauty of its shores.

For the realization of the day we must thank the administration of Colico and its entire organizational structure which, sensing the potential of the event, hosts us in its splendid square overlooking Lake Como, embraced by the mountains which proved to be the perfect setting for Belle Époque Lake Como.

This is the video created for the reopening of tourism on Lake Como after the closures due to Covid19.

It seemed like a beautiful way to bring site visitors to the Lake.