Northern Italy is named as “Land of 5 lakes”, with 5 stunning lakes of Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore, Lake Iseo and Lake Orta. Each lake has its own beauty and charm but undoubtedly, Como is the worldwide most famous, not only for its beautiful location-nesting within marvelous mountain ranges, but also for its numerous beautiful lake-front villas (totally there are about 200 of them).
Many famous celebrities, politicians and wealthy individuals own villas in Lake Como such as Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Richard Branson, Jose Mourinho, and many villas were used as a location for famous movies, such as James Bond and Star Wars.
Most Como villas have admirable well-curated gardens, thanks to the mild climate of lake water that can sustain even subtropical and Mediterranean plants, combined with richly decorated interior and vast art collections thanks to its nobel owners.
Most of the villas can be admired during a boat lake cruise (which is part of our Lake Como boat tour). In some of our tours you will also enjoy an inside visit of the villa to admire their magnificent beauty and elegance.
Currently 6 out of 7 villas on this list remain open to the public.
Villa Carlotta
Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese noble family Clerici in 1690. It occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the beautiful village Bellagio. Villa Carlotta has an enormous lake front garden with steps, fountains, and sculptures, filled with orange and camellia trees, together with other precious plants: cedars, palms, redwoods.
After changing ownership several times,in 1843, it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. Besides its well preserved garden, Villa Carlotta is also an art museum with famous artworks from Antonio Canova, Francesco Hayez, Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Nowadays, the villa belongs to public ownership via the charitable foundation of Ente Villa Carlotta. The visit of this villa is included in our small group Lake Como day tour from Milan.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jei15pRXAjsuLQLk6
Villa d’Este
Villa d’Este is located in the lower part of Lake Como, in Cernobbio. It was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town Como. In the period of 1816–1817, the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, wife of the Prince of Wales, who later on became Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. That’s the reason why compared to other villas, Villa d’Este has distinguishable English gardens, it was also thanks to Queen of George IV that the villa has its name, originally as New Villa d’Este, linking to the famous Villa d’Este in Rome.
In 1873, the villa was turned into a luxury hotel and still considered one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, continuously ranked as the best hotel/resort in the world by famous magazines such as Forbes, Travel + Leisure.
The villa is not open to the public, given that it’s now a luxury resort. However, by booking and enjoying a high-end lunch/dinner in its famous lake-front restaurants, visitors can have the opportunity to visit both inside and the garden of this enormous 100,000 m2 Renaissance villa.
The visit and lunch in Villa d’Este is included in our private Lake Como tour.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ofxcMxqCffwhEEte6
Villa del Balbianello
Villa del Balbianello lies on the western shore of lake Como, near Isola Comacina. Villa del Balbianello is a famous filming location that appeared in important Hollywood movies such as James Bond Casino Royale & Star Wars.
Differently from most of the other villas that were constructed from the beginning, Villa Balbianello was converted from a monastery that had existed since the 13th century. The conversion was made by its owner Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini in 1787.
After the ownership transfer to the Visconti family, Villa del Balbianello was an important meeting location for the famous politicians and patriotic writers such as Giovanni Berchet, Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Giusti, as well as the artist Arnold Bocklin. Italian businessman and explorer Count Guido Monzino is the last owner of Villa del Balbianello, who has totally transformed the interior design of the villa with many items collected from his expeditions all around the world.
In 1988, Monzino died and left the villa and an endowment to pay for maintenance, to the Fondo Ambiente Italiano. Thanks to his generosity, the beauty of this panoramic villa can be observed by the public.
You can discover Villa Balbianello in our private Lake Como tour.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MpRx2a8n5VSGnBdK6
Villa Serbelloni
Villa Serbelloni is located in the famous beautiful town of Bellagio in the golden triangle of Lake Como. Same as villa Balbianello, villa Serbelloni was built leveraging on the existing structure of an old castle destroyed in 1375. Villa Serbelloni took its name from its owner during the 18th century, Alessandro Serbelloni, who had enriched the villa with precious decorations and works of art of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The villa was transformed into a luxury hotel in 1905. Later in 1959 it became the property of the Rockefeller Foundation of New York at the bequest of the American-born Princess of Thurn and Taxis, who previously had bought the villa in 1930. What makes the villa outstanding compared to other villas in Lake Como is its park. While the gardens of other villas include many different types of low trees and flowers, the garden of villa Serbelloni mainly includes woody trees with high trunks, particularly pine trees.
In order to visit Villa Serbelloni, we can book for you lunch or dinner in its famous restaurant ‘’Mistral’’ or ‘’La Goletta’’ in the 5-star hotel Villa Serbelloni, which will give you the possibility to admire its beauty and breathtaking view overlooking Bellagio town.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/x6zXvsBs2LF63PrRA
Villa Monastero
Villa Monastero is the only villa on this list that lies on the right shore of Lake Como in the village Varenna, easily reached by public train from Milan. The villa is the result of the transformation of an ancient women’s monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, built at the end of the 12th century. The Villa went through different owners from Mornico of Valsassina, to Carolina Maumari, Alessandro Manzoni’s first wife, and finally to the De Marchi family of Milan. It was the last owner: the De Marchi family that had performed the extensive building and renovation work that over time gave the villa its current marvelous eclectic appearance.
In 1939, the De Marchi family donated the villa to the State, with the obligation to preserve it and use it for cultural institutions of public benefit. For this reason, the villa still hosts cultural and scientific conferences, including the summer courses of the prestigious Italian School of Physics, which have been attended by more than 60 Nobel Prize winners.
Villa Monasterio’s garden is a perfect harmonization of sculptures, architecture and nature, with endless ranges of statues, palm trees, citrus and lake-front terrace for lake viewing and tea ceremonies.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8Ye2Disyf85fG2eK8
Villa Olmo
Being the closest villa to Como town, Villa Olmo is connected to Como City via a beautiful panoramic walking path along the lake.
Villa Olmo has neo classical design and was constructed later compared to other villas in the list. The villa was built in 1797 by Swiss architect Simone Cantoni for nobleman Innocenzo Odescalchi as a summer retreat. Instead of taking its name from the owners, the villa was named after an elm tree, which is unfortunately no longer alive today. The front of Villa Olmo was composed with large fountain and sculpture lines facing the lake, meanwhile the garden at the back of the villa hosts more than 800 varieties of trees.
In 1924, Villa Olmo was acquired by the municipality of Como. Today, both the inside and the garden of the villa are open to the public.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hJ93W71ch2j5o4Nh8
Villa Cagni Troubetzkoy
Villa Cagni Troubetzkoy was built around 1850 by Russian prince Troubetzkoy, who married to one of the daughters of famous ballerina Marta Taglioni. The prince came to the area after having served six months of heavy labour in Siberia during the war and chose Blevio in Como as his resident place.
The prince brought down a pre-existing rural construction, starting work on his own villa. It explains why Villa Troubetzkoy has an architecture style totally different from other villas of Lake Como with triangle roofs and neoclassical architectures.
Even though Villa Troubetzkoy is not open for visitors, its outstanding architecture style is worth mentioning and you can spot it easily during our boat tour in Lake Como.