Villa Maresi was built on the ruins of an ancient medieval castle is part of the system of fortifications dating back to the Franco-Hispanic war that ended in 1529....

The family bankers Amsick from Hamburg bought several properties in the enchanting corner of San Giovanni. The project involved demolition of some houses, silk factories, and three villas overlooking a lake. For this reason, in San Giovanni there is...

Adjacent to Park Maier, is this villa built in the mid-nineteenth century for the Milan Bar Emilio Ferrario and Pompey, before moving into the hands of various owners. Initially the villa was surrounded by a large park that later in 1925 was...

Located opposite Comacina island, this villa was once the home to many distinguished individuals including Beccaria Bonesana who built the villa in the 18th century and much later Cesare Cantu, writer, historian and patriot who left it to his...

Nineteenth century villa transformed into a comfortable, charming family-run, with a cozy living rooms in Art Nouveau style with large windows and original period frescoes. The villa, characterized by a central backlog open loggias with three arches...

A wonderful refined property with Lake, Gardens and more. Dating back to the 1750’s and is in fact where the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi stayed and composed ‘La Traviata’. Private residence. The garden, slightly downhill towards the lake,...

Privately owned and protected by a high wall, this villa tempts curious visitors with its elegant garden, thanks to a wide gate, overlooking Via Regina. It is also one of the points of interest along the celebrated Green Way. The villa divides the...

To reach this private villa, you must walk a stone staircase, the so-called 'Scalotta', from the docks of Loppia (near Bellagio) alongside Villa Melzi, with eight hundred steps that leads up to an Italian garden with fountain. The roof is decorated...

Ever wonder where that stunning backdrop to Daniel Craig's R&R was? The 18th century Villa Balbianello hosted Mr Craig and his Hollywood crew. The mansion sits on a spit of land jutting into the deep green waters of the Lake whose shores are...

Private Residence. Built by the lake in the second half of the eighteenth century, the property was later expanded and renovated villa especially in the part of the garden. At the top of the garden, the Balzaretto also built the Mausoleum Gonzaga,...

Located on the western shore of Lake Como, Villa del Balbianello is perched on the point of the Dosso di Lavedo, a wooded promontory that juts out from the coastline to form a small peninsula. Villa del Balbianello is famous for its elaborate...

Villa Carlotta is a unique sanctuary of art and beauty with its magnificent botanical specimens and art masterpieces in over 70,000 square meters of gardens and museum. It is located on the most picturesque part of Lake Como and renown for its...

Designed by architect Cesare Cattaneo and painter Mario Radice in 1935. It is a complex construction of circular elements whose harmonious composition consists of four spheres arranged on each other with alternate horizontal rings. Originally...

Located in Montepiatto, a village high above Torno with great hiking trails and equally fantastic views of the lake is the "Stone pendula", boulder resting on a pedestal. This boulder with its base has the appearance of a mushroom. It is thought...

A series of modern frescoes (2007) painted on houses in the town of Taceno that endeavour to preserve traditions, legends and history of craftsmanship and commercial work. Unlike their counterparts in Parlasco that recount the legend of Lasco the...

Three tombs belonging to the aristocratic Andreani Family located outside the Church of St Thomas of Beckett and a castle belonging to the same family. The monuments, know as “arks” are important evidence of Lombardy sculpture that were erected...

Geological formations resembling mushrooms created when water running off the slopes was diverted by large boulders. The boulders imposing size and weight protected the underlying material from erosion and gave rise to the characteristic shape of a...

It’s a boulder of pyramidal shape that owes its curious name to a crescent engraved on one side, of natural origin, accompanied by the letters PLDB (Moon Stone of Bellagio) and the date 1782, which commemorates the end of a period of dispute between...

Monument to the fallen of World War I, designed in 1926 by architect Giuseppe Terragni and built between 1928 and 1931. It consists of a long stone staircase and river pebbles surrounded by cypress trees. The staircase consists of four flights and...

Monument to commemorate the victims of World War II and resistance movements. The monument is a project of Milan sculptor Gianni Colombo. It is located in a park by the lake. It combines stones from Nazi concentration camps and city of Hiroshima...

Daniel Libeskind created this dazzling 16.5 meter (54 feet) high stainless steel sculpture near Piazza Cavour, Como. The public monument, the first contemporary work ever to be installed in Como, is an homage to famed scientist Alexander Volta who...

The burial town where Alessandro Volta is buried was originally called Camnago, and took the name of Camnago Volta in 1863 in honour of this great scientist. The mausoleum, a temple of neoclassic style, was finished in 1831, decorated with statues...

Parlasco is one of the smallest Italian towns located in the Regional Park of the Northern Grigna in Valsassina. It is on the main road connecting Lake Lecco to Valsassina and joins Alpe Cainallo with Cortenova. Myth and reality are perfectly mixed...

Born in Como, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian physicist credited with the invention of the first electrical battery, the Voltaic pile, which he invented in 1799. With this invention Volta proved that electricity could be...

In the centre of the ancient village Palanzo, situated in the hills and part of the commune of Faggeto Lario, there is an enormous wine press of the 17th century. It is made to work during the annual feast called Sagra del Torchio in October. It was...

Immediately after the death of Alessandro Manzoni on May 22, 1873, the City Council of Lecco met and approved a monument to the writer that had given so much prestige to the city. The committee, headed by Antonio Stoppani, collected donations for...

Located in a churchyard, this statue represents a man in the act of throwing a large stone. The monument reminds locals of a battle in Libya in which alpinists of Brienno fought. The battalion Morbegno, all composed of soldiers from the lake area,...

Monument dedicated to the weaver of Francesco Somaini, where on the banks of the river Senagra, had one of its oldest and most prestigious silk factories. In the marble top is a negative image of a weaver, while below is fabric draping to the ground....

Sculpture dedicated to disabled service people. Roughly translation on the plaque goes like this: "One hand is actively serving the country in defense of institutional values. The other hand is wounded in the line of duty." The monument is the most...

At the entrance to Laglio's cemetery is a curious pyramidal tomb containing the mortal remains of prestigious doctor Joseph Frank. Born in 1771 Frank was a student of physics and medicine in Pavia. He was a pupil of Alessandro Volta, of whom he...

In 1931, Giuseppe Terragni and his brother were asked by the fascists to design a monument for the victims of World War I. Their design was based on a sketch of the Italian futurist Antonio Sant'Elia, whose sketches showed modernity, dynamics and...

The Volta Lighthouse stands on a hill in San Maurizio, 150 metres above Brunate. From Brunate you can follow a walking path up to the lighthouse and it takes less than 30 minutes to walk there. You can pay an admission and climb to the top of the...