What to See

Points of interest

Entries researched and verified against official sources, organized into 11 categories: mountains, churches, refuges, scenic viewpoints, villas, beaches, museums, Manzoni-related sites, historic sites, food & wine and other points. The catalog grows week by week.

Basilica di San Nicolò

Basilica di San Nicolò

The symbol of Lecco: the 96-metre "Matitone" bell tower has dominated the town since 1904. Neoclassical facade, 14th-century frescoes and a view of the Resegone.

Camping Spiaggia

Pebble beach attached to Camping Spiaggia in Abbadia Lariana, with a bar and overnight stays; water rated excellent by the official bathing water portal.

Casa Natale di Giuseppe Parini

A house museum in Bosisio Parini where poet Giuseppe Parini, author of "Il Giorno", was born in 1729: period furniture, rare editions and documents.

Castello dell'Innominato

Castello dell'Innominato

On the hill of Somasca, in Vercurago: the ruins tradition identifies with the home of the "Innominato", today the sanctuary of San Girolamo Emiliani.

Castello di Urio

A castle on the lake's first western basin, a fief of the Della Porta counts from 1731 and later an Opus Dei retreat house. Acquired in 2024 by the Belmond-LVMH group to become a luxury hotel.

Castello di Vezio

A watchtower and walls on a promontory above Varenna, with views over the central lake, an exhibition on the Lariosauro and one of the northernmost olive groves.

Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso

The provost church of Bellano, on the square beside the Orrido: a 14th-century façade in white and black marble, a large rose window of glazed terracotta, late-Romanesque and Gothic forms.

Chiesa dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta

Parish church of Dervio with an 11th-century Romanesque bell tower, among the oldest on Lake Como. Northern end of the Varenna–Dervio leg of the Sentiero del Viandante.

Chiesa di San Giorgio

Chiesa di San Giorgio

Founded in 1232 in Acquate, the church where Manzonian tradition places the failed wedding of Renzo and Lucia, on Piazza Sagrato Don Abbondio.

Chiesa di San Giorgio

The parish church of Varenna, on the square of the same name in the centre of the village: 14th-century Lombard architecture, 13th-century frescoes and a late-15th-century polyptych.

Chiesa di San Lorenzo a Regoledo

The church of San Lorenzo in the Regoledo hamlet of Perledo, on the Sentiero del Viandante: a statue of San Fermo and a 17th-century altarpiece by Giovanni Battista Fumeo.

Chiesa e convento di Fra' Cristoforo

Chiesa e convento di Fra' Cristoforo

In Pescarenico, the church of Santi Materno e Lucia and the former Capuchin convent: the place Manzoni chose as the home of Fra Cristoforo.

Church of Santa Maria Maddalena

A Romanesque oratory on the Ossuccio lakefront, part of the medieval Hospitalis di Stabio, with a bell tower whose late-Gothic belfry has Oriental-style detail.

Church of the Ascension

The Anglican church of Cadenabbia, at Griante: inaugurated in 1891 for the English community of the lake, one of the first Anglican churches built in Italy.

Scenic viewpoints

Comacina Island

The only island on Lake Como, facing Sala Comacina and Ossuccio. A fortified centre from the late Roman Empire, destroyed in 1169, today an archaeological site.

Corenno Plinio

Medieval hamlet on a rocky headland, a frazione of Dervio, with the Andreani castle, the church of San Tommaso di Canterbury and three Gothic tomb arches.

Corni di Canzo

The three peaks that are the symbol of the Triangolo Lariano: the Corno Orientale within reach of anyone, the other two reserved for experienced hikers (EE).

Fonti di Gajum

Canzo's best-known spring, at 485 m on the slope of the Ravella stream: the classic starting point for Rifugio SEV, the Corni di Canzo and the Sanctuary of San Miro.

Fronte Lido (Argegno)

Free public beach on the western shore of the lake in Argegno, right across from the famous Lido di Argegno. Water quality monitored and rated excellent, free and open to everyone.

Fronte Molo (Colonno)

A swimming spot in the centre of Colonno, next to the pier: a small, informal free beach with no organised facilities, on the western shore of the lake.

Isola dei Cipressi

Isola dei Cipressi

A small island in Lake Pusiano with about 130 cypress trees: once home to viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais, now open to visitors by boat.

Laghetto di Piona

"El laghett": a sheltered bay in Colico, swimmable all summer with warm, calm waters, facing the promontory of the Abbazia di Piona.

Scenic viewpoints

Lago del Segrino

A glacial lake between Canzo, Longone al Segrino and Eupilio, among the cleanest in Europe: a flat loop of about 5 km, suited to families.

Lido del Segrino

An equipped lido on Lake Segrino, in Eupilio: swimming, canoe, SUP and bike rental, a bar and restaurant on the lake.

Lido di Abbadia Lariana

Grassy, shaded lido in Abbadia Lariana, also known as Lido Parco di Chiesa Rotta: bar, changing cabins and sunbeds for hire, starting point of the Sentiero del Viandante.

Lido di Faggeto

Small lido with a sandy beach in the Riva hamlet of Faggeto Lario, with a wooden pier-terrace for diving and views over the Como branch of the lake.

Lido di Lenno

A lakefront lido on the promenade of Lenno, in Tremezzina: sandy beach, showers and a restaurant, with access and services that vary by season and management.

Lido di Puncia

A free public beach on the eastern shore of Lake Como, in Bellano: its waters regularly pass seasonal health checks, a quiet choice away from the crowds of Lake Como's busier towns.

Lido di Villa Geno

A historic lido in the heart of Como, reborn as "Giulietta al Lago": a sandy beach, a lawn for sunbathing, a bar and a wooden pier over the water, with views across the bay.

Lido di Villa Olmo

A large lakeside lido in the historic park of Villa Olmo, in Como: two swimming pools, a natural beach, a bar, a restaurant and a long tradition as a venue for events and fashion shows.

MACA - Open-Air Museum of Contemporary Art

A diffuse open-air museum in Italy's smallest municipality: over thirty works by Italian and international artists, born in the 1980s from Carlo Invernizzi's "Natura Naturans" philosophy.

Madonna del Ghisallo

A 17th-century sanctuary on the Ghisallo pass, patron saint of cyclists since 1949: it holds the bicycles of Coppi, Bartali and Merckx, next to the Museo del Ciclismo.

Madonna del Gorghiglio

Stone oratory on the road between Peglio and Livo, rebuilt in 1779, listed as a waypoint on Stage 4 of the Via dei Monti Lariani.

Medieval village of Colonno

A medieval village on the western shore of Lake Como, at the foot of Monte Costone. The official starting point of the Greenway del Lago di Como.

Monte Bregagno

A 2,107 m peak, the highest on the western side of the upper lake: a 4 km ridge between Val Menaggio and Val di Dongo, a ski-mountaineering spot.

Monte Grona

A 1,736 m rocky spur above Menaggio, with views over the central lake, Triangolo Lariano and Lake Lugano: climbed from Rifugio Menaggio.

Monte Resegone

Monte Resegone

The mountain that closes Lecco's horizon and opens the incipit of The Betrothed: 1,875 m in the Orobie Prealps, on the border between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo.

Monte San Primo

The highest peak of the Triangolo Lariano (1,682 m): a 360° panorama over the lake, the Prealps and the Alps, reached on a classic loop from Piano Rancio.

Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo

Opened in 2006 next to the Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo, it tells the story of cycling across three floors of memorabilia from the sport's great champions.

Museo Giancarlo Vitali

Opened in 2025 in Palazzo Lorla, in Bellano's historic centre: one hundred works by painter and printmaker Giancarlo Vitali (1929-2018), born in the town.

Orrido di Bellano

The gorge cut by the Pioverna torrent in the centre of Bellano, walked on a system of walkways anchored to the rock. At its mouth stands the Ca' del Diavol tower.

Ospedaletto Beach

Ospedaletto Beach, also known as Lido di Ossuccio, combines a wide lakeside lawn, swimming and the historic Santa Maria Maddalena complex in Tremezzina.

Palazzo Carpani-Beauharnais

Palazzo Carpani-Beauharnais

A historic villa on the shore of Lake Pusiano, now the town hall: from the Middle Ages to the Napoleonic era it also hosted viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais.

Palazzo Gallio

A Renaissance palace on a promontory north of Gravedona, built for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio in the late 16th century. Today the seat of the Comunità Montana and home to the Camellia Show.

Palazzotto di Don Rodrigo

On the Zucco promontory in Acquate, the site traditionally identified with Don Rodrigo's palace: demolished in 1937, today it is home to Villa Guzzi.

Parco Pubblico di Brienno

A lakefront public park in Brienno, award-winning for its public-space regeneration: a green area, sundeck and wooden pier with views of Nesso.

Scenic viewpoints

Passeggiata degli Innamorati

A pedestrian walkway cantilevered over the water linking the Varenna ferry landing to the old centre, with views over the lake and the mountains.

Passo San Jorio

Passo San Jorio

At 2,010 m, the pass linking the northern shore of Lake Como to Switzerland: a former smuggling route and WWI outpost, now a hiking goal.

Pescarenico

Pescarenico

The old fishing village on the Adda, the only place in Lecco Manzoni names outright: Lucia flees by boat from here in the "Farewell to the mountains" scene.

Piani Resinelli Mining Park

Mines worked since the 16th century in the heart of the Grigne: the Piani Resinelli mining park can be visited with a guide through the Anna and Sottocavallo galleries, at 1,300 m.

Ponte Azzone Visconti

Ponte Azzone Visconti

Lecco's "Old Bridge": built in 1336-1338 for Azzone Visconti, it marks the point where the Lecco branch of the lake becomes the Adda river.

Pradello

The large lawn beach divided by hedges in Abbadia Lariana, three kilometres from Lecco: cliff jumps, a stretch of pebble beach and full facilities close by.

Presunta Casa di Lucia

On Via Lucia, in Acquate, the building traditionally identified as the house of Lucia Mondella: today it hosts an osteria.

Punta Spartivento

The point where Lake Como splits into its two branches, in Bellagio: a small beach, a park and one of the most photographed views on the Lario.

Rifugio Anna Maria

A hut at 1,000 m in Piano Rancio (Bellagio), built in 1929 by the Squadra Alpinisti Milanesi: the starting point for the Monte San Primo loop.

Rifugio Bugone

A 1,119 m hut above Moltrasio, a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani with a bar-restaurant and overnight stays, open all summer.

Rifugio Dalco

Hut at 1,000 m in the Dalco locality, municipality of Montemezzo, a stop on the Lario trail network and Stage 4 of the Via dei Monti Lariani.

Rifugio la Canua

A 1,520 m hut run by Operazione Mato Grosso volunteers, on a natural terrace with views from the north to the south of the lake: a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani.

Rifugio Martina

A mountain hut at 1,280 m on the north side of Monte San Primo, at the Alpe dei Picett: run by the Ticozzi family since 1928, known for its polenta uncia.

Rifugio Menaggio

CAI hut at about 1,380 m on the slopes of Monte Grona, a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani and base for climbing Grona and Bregagno.

Rifugio Murelli

A 1,200 m hut on the Via dei Monti Lariani, rebuilt in 2008 after a fire: panoramic lake views, a stop on Stage 1.

Rifugio Prabello

A 1,210 m hut on the ridge between Val d'Intelvi and Switzerland, owned by CAI: a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani towards Sasso Gordona.

Rifugio San Jorio

Rifugio San Jorio

A refuge at 1,980 m just below the San Jorio Pass, a former Guardia di Finanza barracks now run by the Waliki association. Closed for all of 2026.

Rifugio SEV Pianezzo

A mountain hut at 1,276 m at the foot of the Corni di Canzo, on the Alpe di Pianezzo: run by volunteers from the S.E.V. of Valmadrera, the base for climbing the three peaks.

Rifugio Venini

A 1,576 m hut in Val d'Intelvi, a former Cadorna Line barracks rebuilt by Alpine troops: a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani.

Riva del Cantone (Dorio)

A wild, undeveloped stretch of shore in Dorio, one of the village's two monitored bathing spots: open views over the lake and mountains, no facilities.

Rivetta (Dorio)

A small beach of white pegmatite pebbles along a side road in Dorio, between cliffs and still-wild stretches of shoreline on the Upper Lake Como.

Scenic viewpoints

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

Fourteen Baroque chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, above the village of Ossuccio.

Sagra del Missoltino (Mezzegra)

Since 1964, Mezzegra's festival, in Tremezzina, has celebrated missoltino: two evenings of meals, live music and lakeside tradition.

Sagra del Misultin (Dervio)

Dervio's yearly festival dedicated to misultin, Lake Como's dried agone fish, at Parco Boldona: meals, a display on the process, boat rides.

San Giovanni Battista

San Giovanni Battista

Among the oldest churches on Lake Como, on Piazza San Giorgio in Varenna: probably dating to the 11th century, with 13th- and 14th-century frescoes.

San Miro

Sanctuary at 319 m on the San Michele hill, a pilgrimage site against drought since the Middle Ages, on Stage 4 of the Via dei Monti Lariani.

San Nicolao - Arte Contemporanea

A former 1295 church in Bellano's historic centre, restored in 2024: today a space for temporary exhibitions and Danilo Vitali's permanent collection.

Santuario della Madonna della Neve

Santuario della Madonna della Neve

A 16th-century chapel above Pusiano, about a 20-minute walk from the town centre: views over Brianza and, on clear days, Milan.

Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime di Lezzeno

The Baroque sanctuary of Lezzeno, above Bellano, built after the event held to be miraculous in 1688 and tied to the Madonna delle Lacrime. A waypoint on the Sentiero del Viandante.

Sorgente del Fiumelatte

The source of the Fiumelatte, just south of Varenna: a watercourse of about 250 metres, among the shortest in Italy, intermittent and with milky-white water.

Spiaggia Acquaforte

Beach shaped by steady winds in Gera Lario, a reference point for sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing, close to the Pian di Spagna Nature Reserve.

Spiaggia Campeggio Europa

Lakefront beach in Dervio attached to Camping Europa, with direct access to the water: a reference point for sailing, kitesurfing and windsurfing, and a stop on the Sentiero del Viandante.

Spiaggia Camping Miralago

Historic beach at Camping Miralago in Dongo, open since 1958 and family-run, with direct access for boats, motorboats and windsurfing.

Spiaggia del Pontile (Gera Lario)

A bathing spot next to the Gera Lario pier, with excellent water quality and steady winds ideal for both swimming and sailing.

Spiaggia della Foppa

A free gravel-and-pebble beach north of Dervio's historic centre, sheltered from southern winds and shaded by old trees, next to "Bau Bau Beach", the town's dog beach.

Spiaggia di Abbadia Lariana

Long pebble beach running along the whole lakefront of Abbadia Lariana, equipped and family-friendly, with waters rated excellent quality.

Spiaggia di Colico

A wide, sandy beach along the Lungolario Polti in Colico, with sweeping Alpine views: a favourite spot for kitesurfers, windsurfers and families thanks to the steady Breva wind.

Spiaggia di Dervio

Dervio's main lakefront beach: lawn, sand and pebbles, a sailing school, an inflatable water park and a fenced area for dogs near the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

Spiaggia di Dongo

A sandy, green beach on via Vigna del Lago in Dongo: a quiet corner of the Upper Lake, a short walk from the Museo della Fine della Guerra.

Spiaggia di Gera Lario

Grassy, well-exposed beach in Gera Lario, next to the small harbour and its 1957 votive lighthouse, with a bar close by.

Spiaggia di Limonta

Free pebble shore at Limonta, a hamlet of Oliveto Lario on Lake Como's Lecco branch: historic village, jetties and an olive-grove landscape, with no organised beach facilities.

Spiaggia di Oro

A pebbly shore in the Oro hamlet of Bellano, with views over the lake's central basin: water quality is not guaranteed every season, so check before swimming.

Spiaggia di San Giovanni

A free beach in the hamlet of San Giovanni, a short walk from the centre of Bellagio: a natural stretch of shore with no facilities, reached on foot along a path.

Spiaggia di San Vito (Cremia)

A long pebble beach in the hamlet of San Vito, in Cremia: a small harbour to the south, a stream mouth to the north, and steady winds popular with sailors on the Upper Lake Como.

Spiaggia Ontano

A wide grassy meadow in the Villatico hamlet of Colico, a landmark spot for sailing and kitesurfing thanks to the Breva wind, with a dedicated area for swimmers with disabilities.

Spiaggia Rivetto

A historic beach in Bellagio just steps from Villa Melzi d'Eril: together with nearby Punta Spartivento, it received the Blue Flag award in 2013.

Spiaggia Selvaggia

A natural stretch of shoreline in Colico, between the Adda river mouth and the Montecchio Nord hills, kept free of facilities for direct contact with nature.

Tabernacolo dei Bravi

In the Acquate district, the shrine where Manzoni sets the encounter between Don Abbondio and Don Rodrigo's thugs: the true starting point of The Betrothed.

Villa Ambra

Also known as Villa Gadda, this was the childhood home of writer Carlo Emilio Gadda in Longone al Segrino, who in his novels set the nearby lake under the poetic name "See grün". Today it is a residential building.

Villa Balbiano

A late 16th-century villa on the Ossuccio lakefront, built for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio. One of the largest private residences on Lake Como.

Villa Baragiola-Carcano

A nineteenth-century villa in Carate Urio, home from the mid-1800s to the celebrated La Scala ballerina Sofia Fuoco. Later passed to the Viganotti Giusti and Baragiola-Carcano families, it is today a private residence.

Villa Bernasconi

An Art Nouveau villa built in 1905-1906 for silk industrialist Davide Bernasconi, with a rare decorative cycle devoted to the silkworm. Today a public museum in Cernobbio.

Villa Besana

Also known as Villa Aurelia, it was built in 1921 in an eclectic Art Nouveau style directly on the lake in Lierna, with a park reaching down to its own boat landings. In 2018 it reportedly drew a purchase offer from George Clooney, which did not go through.

Villa Bossi Porro Lambertenghi

A nineteenth-century villa in Tavernerio that in the early 1950s took in flood refugees from the Polesine. Today it houses Villa Santa Maria, a care centre for children with autism and other psychiatric conditions.

Villa Cantaluppi Giuliani

A 1910 Art Nouveau villa on Via Roma, in Brunate's historic centre, decorated with graffito work by the Ghielmetti firm. Now on loan to the municipality and the local Alpini association, it is one of the few village villas open to the public.

Villa Carlotta

A museum and botanical garden at Tremezzo: works by Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen and an eight-hectare park with rhododendrons, azaleas and a bamboo garden.

Villa Cipressi

A complex of buildings on the Varenna lakefront, with a terraced garden sloping down to the lake, today a historic hotel and a garden open to visitors.

Villa d'Este

A 16th-century cardinal's residence transformed by Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, who gave it its present name. Since 1873 a luxury hotel among Italy's "Locali Storici", with a park declared a national monument in 1913.

Villa del Balbianello

A FAI villa on the Lavedo peninsula, at Lenno. The Loggia Durini and the museum with the library and mementoes of Guido Monzino's expeditions.

Villa del Grumello

A former "Castellazzo" surrounded by vineyards, transformed in the 16th century into one of the first holiday villas on Lake Como, where Ugo Foscolo wrote love letters to Francesca Giovio.

Villa Erba

A late 19th-century Neo-Renaissance villa in Cernobbio, summer residence of the Visconti di Modrone family and childhood home of director Luchino Visconti. Now an exhibition and conference centre.

Villa Erba (ex Galoppatoio)

The large lawn of the former Galoppatoio next to Villa Erba, in Cernobbio: now home to the Circolo Vela Cernobbio sailing club, with public access not guaranteed on a daily basis.

Villa Farneti

An Art Nouveau villa with a panoramic tower on Via Giacomo Scalini, built after the First World War, one of the most photographed in Brunate on the path leading up to the Volta Lighthouse.

Villa Ferranti

A neoclassical villa where soprano Giuditta Pasta hosted Bellini and Donizetti: here "La Sonnambula" and "Norma", with its famous "Casta Diva", were composed. Rebuilt in 1906-1910 as Villa Roccabruna, now the heart of the Mandarin Oriental resort.

Villa Ferrario

A villa enclosed by a boundary wall of probable medieval origin, today home to the Municipality of Castelmarte, on via Roma in the heart of the village.

Villa Fontanella

A yellow neoclassical palazzo in Moltrasio, built in the early nineteenth century by Lord Charles Currie and personally restored by Gianni Versace, who bought it in 1977. For nearly twenty years the designer's hideaway, today a private property.

Villa Gallia

A 17th-century villa on Via Borgovico, built in 1615 on the site of Paolo Giovio's 16th-century "Museo Gioviano" and enlarged in neoclassical style in the 19th century by Simone Cantoni. Today it houses public offices, with a lakeside garden open to visitors free of charge at set times.

Villa Gavazzi

Bought in 1817 by the Gavazzi brothers, silk industrialists, this villa with seventeenth-century origins was renovated in Neoclassical style by architect Giuseppe Bovara and surrounded by an extensive romantic park. Still privately owned by the family, it opens to the public during the "Ville Aperte" event.

Villa Giulia

Built at the end of the eighteenth century for count Pietro Venini and completed in 1806, Villa Giulia crowns a headland in Bellagio with a rare double view over both branches of the lake. Once owned by Leopold I of Belgium, it is reached by climbing the historic "scalotta" of eight hundred steps from Loppia.

Villa Greppi

A neo-rococo residence rebuilt in the late nineteenth century to a design by Emilio Alemagna, once home to the patron Antonio Greppi, protector of Metastasio and Goldoni.

Villa La Gaeta

An eclectic, neo-medieval villa on the Acquaseria promontory, designed by the Coppedè brothers and completed in 1921. A filming location for the 2006 film "Casino Royale".

Villa Làrio

A luxury complex in Pognana Lario built around a nineteenth-century neoclassical building facing directly onto the lake, flanked by the mini-villas Villa Bianca and Pavilion. An infinity pool and private pier offer westward views.

Villa Manzoni

Villa Manzoni

The Manzoni family home in Lecco's Caleotto district: today it houses the Museo Manzoniano, the municipal art gallery and the historical archive.

Villa Marinoni

An Art Nouveau villa built in 1910 by the Belgian countess Nelly Piereard, with original tree-shaped graffito decorations on every chamfered corner, on via Pissarottino in Brunate.

Villa Meda

A late-18th-century Neoclassical villa in the heart of Canzo, designed by Simone Cantoni, with coffered ceilings frescoed and signed in 1701-1702 by Luca Roscio. Today it houses Canzo's Civic Library.

Villa Melzi d'Eril

A neoclassical villa on the Bellagio lakefront, built between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril. English-style gardens open to the public, with a museum in the former orangery.

Villa Monastero

A former Cistercian monastery on the Varenna lakefront, today a house-museum and conference venue, with a botanical garden running for almost two kilometres along the lake.

Villa Mylius Cramer

An 18th-century residence of the Artaria family, famed music publishers of Mozart and Beethoven, later remodelled by Giuseppe Balzaretto and by Gottfried Semper for the Mylius and Cramer banking families.

Villa Odescalchi

A sixteenth-century residence known today as Villa Santa Chiara, once owned by the Odescalchi family, with a large English garden; now a care home.

Villa Oleandra

One of the oldest residences in Laglio, recorded in local land registers since 1720, today known as the Italian home of the actor George Clooney, purchased in 2002.

Villa Olmo

An imposing neoclassical villa on the Como lakefront, built between 1797 and 1812 to a design by Simone Cantoni. Now a municipal venue for exhibitions and cultural events, with a public park facing the lake.

Villa Orlandi

An Art Nouveau villa on via Pissarottino in Brunate, with different decorations on each of its four facades. Close to Villa Marinoni, a stop on the village's villa trail.

Villa Parravicini

Villa Parravicini di Persia, documented since 1560, with seventeenth-century coffered ceilings and the Baroque Oratory of Santa Elisabetta in its garden.

Villa Passalacqua

An eighteenth-century villa in Moltrasio expanded at the behest of count Passalacqua, with frescoes by Andrea Appiani, it hosted Napoleon and the composer Bellini. Today a luxury hotel, named the world's best in 2023.

Villa Pirotta Bonacossa

A 1902 villa designed by architect Federico Frigerio, known as Brunate's "little Versailles" for its garden with hidden grottoes and raised paths, and for its entrance staircase by Lodovico Pogliaghi.

Villa Pizzo

A 16th-century villa on the headland between Cernobbio and Moltrasio, with Italian and English gardens and avenues of cypresses. Its origins date to 1435; today it belongs to the Lodigiani family.

Villa Pliniana

A sixteenth-century villa in Torno, built in 1573 by count Anguissola around an intermittent spring already described by Pliny two thousand years ago and later studied by Leonardo da Vinci. It hosted Foscolo, Byron, Manzoni and Napoleon; today a resort run by Sereno Properties.

Villa Rachele

An eighteenth-century villa on a small peninsula in Sala Comacina, home of Giulio Beccaria (son of Cesare Beccaria) and uncle of Alessandro Manzoni. It later took its name from Cesare Cantù's daughter Rachele, who founded a literary salon here.

Villa Ripiego

An octagonal villa in Carate Urio built for count Triulzio, refuge of the Duchess of Plaisance after the end of her relationship with the Marquis of Soncino. Later passed to the Viganotti Giusti and Rossini Cazzaniga families.

Villa Ronconi

A neo-Gothic villa in Cadenabbia, built between 1895 and 1905 for the industrialist Pompeo Maresi on the site of an earlier castle, and more properly known as Villa Maresi.

Villa Rosa

A villa in Cadenabbia di Griante where German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer stayed before settling at the nearby Villa La Collina, within the hamlet's rich fabric of nineteenth-century historic residences.

Villa Rubino

A pre-Art Nouveau villa from 1892 that belonged to the Counts Crespi of Vaprio d'Adda, set in a 1.2-hectare park along via Giacomo Scalini in Brunate.

Villa Scalfi

A private villa on the lakefront between Moltrasio and Carate Urio, next to the old Oratory of San Rocco, along the route of the Primo Bacino boat trip.

Villa Serbelloni

A villa on the Bellagio promontory, from a medieval fortress to a residence of the Serbelloni family and today's Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center. The roughly 21-hectare park is open by guided tour.

Villa Trivulzio

Born as Villa Taverna in the eighteenth century, it was home to Francesco Melzi d'Eril and later to the Poldi Pezzoli family, who enlarged its English-style park. Its current name comes from the Trivulzio princes, the family's heirs; the Romanesque church of Santa Maria di Loppia stands within the park.

Villa Trotti

At San Giovanni in Bellagio, marquis Ludovico Trotti turned a seventeenth-century farmhouse into a villa with an Italian-style garden in 1752; a descendant later reworked its facade in Moorish style after a journey to the East. The park opens to the public during the Bellagio Blu&Green event.

Villa Troubetzkoy

A villa-chalet built around 1850 for Russian prince Alexander Troubetzkoy, who blasted the lakeside cliff with dynamite. Abandoned during the 20th century, it was rediscovered in 2009 and restored over nearly a decade.

Villa Usuelli

A pair of twin neoclassical villas, home to celebrated ballerina Maria Taglioni from 1840. Now known as Villa Usuelli, after the family that later bought it, including alpinist Celestino "the flying Milanese".

Villa Vigoni

A 19th-century villa above Menaggio, commissioned by banker Heinrich Mylius as a wedding gift and turned into a place of remembrance. Since 1986 home to the Italian-German Centre for European Dialogue.

Villa Zita

The municipal villa of Torno, open to the public and home to the Pro Loco information point, surrounded by a park with fountains and panoramic views over the lake. A starting point for the routes to Piazzaga and the Pietra Pendula.