Lake Como

It doesn't always have to be the sea. The Lago di Como between the Po and the Alps proves that a lake in Bella Italia can also be a glamorous destination of longing: surrounded by VIP flair, flanked by palazzi, palm trees and plane trees. Bellissimo!
TEXT: ANDREAS JAROS

Lake Como has had an aristocratic air about it ever since Pliny the Elder.
The harmonious ancient villages nestled against the hills. The feudal villas with their gardens and parks. The dream views. The special microclimate. The Alpine-Mediterranean vegetation - and always somewhere in between, a snow-white peak peeking out from behind the contours of the mountain flanks, contrasting the blue of the sky and water in the most wonderful way: No wonder celebrities have succumbed to this blessed vacation region for so long. Composers have been inspired by the diverse landscape to write operas. Singers to true odes to joy. Artists to create masterpieces. Franz Liszt fabled in 1837: "If you want to write the story of two happy lovers, write it here!" It is no coincidence that Winston Churchill also found contemplation on the shores here: he came, saw - and painted away the Second World War.

Belle Époque and Dolce Vita

Luxury tourism arrived at the end of the 19th century, when the first private residences changed hands and were converted into grand hotels. Later, palazzi in the Art Nouveau style were planted in the most beautiful locations. The absolute European elite, the new class of rich and cultured guests, quickly felt magnetically attracted: Every day a party, every day a dance - Belle Époque in its purest form. You felt right at home because you were among your own kind. You checked in with all the servants and a lot of luggage for weeks or months, with some of the booked rooms only being used to store clothes. Cleaning was not done by the hotel staff, but by the guest's maid. The yellowed hotel chronicle of the Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio recalls the clientele of those years: "Pomp, sophistication and, above all, uninterrupted extravagance were the order of the day". Diagonally opposite in Tremezzo, Hollywood swagger would have been understandable for a guest: But Greta Garbo preferred to advertise her familiar Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Lake Como on the big screen in 1932.

Clooney as a priceless advertising medium

70 years later then came the biggest glamour boost for the region to date: since George Clooney bought the eggshell-colored Villa Oleandra from the family of "Ketchup King" Heinz in Laglio for a reported 10 million dollars in 2002, things have been going uphill: More day trippers, more overnight stays, even more lavish media coverage, higher property prices. The guest house, Villa Margherita, also provides the gossip portals and society gazettes with reliable fodder: in June 2019, the Obamas made a stopover there, while Clooney's movie pals such as Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler had already been in and out before. Incidentally, it's not that easy to escape the Hollywood bubble - even in a three-star hotel in the lovely, sleepy town of Torno that is completely unsuspicious of glamor: you sit in the garden of the Vapore, settle the bill for lake trout fillet and vino, only to stare unprepared at a really big fish on your way out: Robert de Niro on the pinboard in a handful of photos in the circle of the happy, beaming owner's family ...
The acting giant is also a friend of old-school Italy, which has fallen a little out of time, although there have recently been some subtle signs of modernization around the lake. There are no longer just old traditions such as chestnut and witch festivals, classical music or a vintage car parade, but also a cocktail week for a younger crowd. The fact that the designer suite hotel Il Sereno and Mandarin Oriental, an international luxury chain, docked at the lake for the first time can also be interpreted as a new wave signal. However: "The most glamorous lake in Europe", trumpeted CNN, which certainly did not detract from the continued influx of wealthy American and British vacationers.

A firework display of colors

Its shape alone stimulates the imagination: Is the third largest and deepest lake in Italy (over 400 meters) now an upside-down Y, a divining rod or a wanderer without arms? In any case, it has something magical, almost mystical, an aura of its own. Depending on the time of day or season, it can sometimes be blue, sometimes green, sometimes undulating and then again so smooth that motorboat captains believe they are gliding along "as if on oil". The two most important towns, Como and Lecco, are located at the end of the two southern branches. Lago di Como or Lario, as the Italians call it, is not a classic bathing lake. You can only dream of the drinking water quality of Austrian lakes here.

Say "Si" to life and love at Bellagio

Bellagio can be celebrated as the pearl of the upper Italian lake - and doesn't need to fear a chorus of indignation from competing communities. This picture-book village at the fork in the middle of the lake is simply too cute, too picturesque. The network of narrow alleyways with steep steps, small art, delicatessen and souvenir stores combined with the arcades and promenade - unbeatable. There are plenty of motifs for Instagrammers and favorite addresses of old VIPs: Empress Sisi already enjoyed herself in the Art Nouveau Café Rossi, and culture fans melt away in front of the "Home of Liszt" opposite the Smooth Operators ice cream parlor, where the afternoon sun is now reflected golden in the lake. Excursion boats are cruising, motorboats are plowing, seaplanes are humming. The wedding party at Villa Serbelloni, the most famous hotel in Bellagio, is making final preparations. They are "beautiful people" from the USA, hand-picked to reinforce the glam image. An attractive violinist in a red dress lets her instrument speak as an overture to a long night - heartbreakingly romantic sounds at sunset, while fishermen near the shore turn off in their nutshells a bouquet's throw away.
Snapshots as if from a distant time - yet they were taken in golden October 2019, when the tourist world was still pink and Lombardy was not a coronavirus hotspot. In spring 2020, when the usual magical sea of azaleas and rhododendrons was in bloom, the lake found itself thrust into a new role - that of a ghost lake. Not a soul outside
outside, no chatting, no strollers, no bikes, no cars, the hotels closed until well into the summer - and then only sparsely populated. The diagnosis
for the new season? Not only George Clooney, who celebrated his breakthrough as a TV doctor in "Emergency Room", is hoping for a healthy happy ending in 2021.