Clooney's lake views

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This was published 12 years ago

Clooney's lake views

Star-struck ... looking across Lake Como towards the surrounding peaks.

Star-struck ... looking across Lake Como towards the surrounding peaks.Credit: Getty Images

Caroline Gladstone explores Como's history, celebrity, landscapes and luscious dining options for the price of a $24 hop on, hop off ferry ticket.

FELLOW passengers enjoying the sunshine on Lake Como are quite demure as we chug past George Clooney's villa. I've been warned there could be jostling for the best view and have my camera ready, rattle off several long shots and home in on the villa's windows and lovely bunches of red geraniums blooming in stone pots, without having to leave my seat.

It's a different story aboard the fast boat in the late afternoon as we head back to Como after a day's sightseeing. It's standing room only and as we whiz past Villa Oleandra (the official name of Clooney's pad), everyone on board jostles to get a good spot from which to take snaps amid good-natured jokes coming from middle-aged men, such as: "What's George got that I haven't?"

George Clooney's Villa Oleandra.

George Clooney's Villa Oleandra.Credit: Getty Images

I feel a little smug; I have my portfolio of images without any indecorous behaviour.

Clooney is certainly a tourist attraction but no amount of amateur paparazzi antics can lure him on to the terrace, if he is at home. Of course, he could be anywhere. The actor flies to Milan (about 45 kilometres from the villa) regularly, jumps on his BMW motorcycle and zooms down to the lake. But not on my watch.

His home near the village of Laglio is grandiose but hundreds of villas line this beautiful lake; every time the boat rounds a corner there's another piece of neo-classical architectural splendour on display, each different and each with a story. (Clooney bought his in 2001 for $US8 million and it is now valued at about $40.27 million).

The lakeside town of Bellagio.

The lakeside town of Bellagio.Credit: Getty Images

Further north is Richard Branson's villa, a Spanish Mission-style terracotta mansion surrounded by a dozen towering cypress pines. Accessible only by boat, it can be rented for €25,000 ($33,576) a week.

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I'm lucky to be travelling with Monica Neroni, a local who knows the lake and its high-profile inhabitants' haunts very well.

Not everyone is a celebrity by today's pop culture standards, she says. Most villas here were built in the late-18th century by rich families and have been passed along the generations. About 10 per cent are public buildings - museums, exclusive hotels and art galleries.

Villa Erba in the charming village of Cernobbio was the childhood home of Italian film director, Luchino Visconti. Today it is a conference centre with a small museum dedicated to the director and has served as the backdrop for movies including the Clooney star turn, Ocean's Twelve. Nearby is the luxurious Hotel Villa d'Este, originally built in 1655 and turned into a hotel in 1873. Its swimming pool, "floating" on the lake, was the first in Europe and two years ago the hotel was ranked the best in the world by the Forbes group.

My favourite is Villa Balbianello, a whimsical mansion built in 1787 for Cardinal Angelo Durini on the site of a former convent. It stands on a wooded promontory and its distinctive twin bell towers are all that remain of the original structure; today's building occupies several terraces and is crowned by a magnificent vine-covered loggia, a shady place where the cardinal liked to read. Following his death the villa passed to several noble families then fell into disrepair and was bought and renovated in the early-20th century by an American military officer. In 1974 it was purchased by explorer Count Guido Monzino, who led the first Italian expedition to climb Mount Everest. Luckily Monzino bequeathed it to the National Trust of Italy and it is now open to visitors (and is a popular venue for society wedding receptions).

A day on Lake Como is a superb experience; while the stunning homes and hotels are the domain of the exceptionally well-heeled, a visitor can take it all in for as little as €18.60 ($24), the price of a day pass. Board the ferry in Como city or any of the lakeside villages and cruise, hopping on and off as you please.

Created by a glacier some 20,000 years ago, Lake Como is the third largest in Italy (after Garda and Maggiore) and one of the deepest in Europe, measuring 414 metres at its deepest point.

From the air it resembles an inverted "Y", with Como at the base of the lake's western arm. Ferries travel its 46-kilometre length and meander along the more remote eastern arm as well. My trip covers the western fork, home to sumptuous real estate, and I alight at Tremezzo for Villa Carlotta.

Set in seven hectares of gardens and brimming with artworks, the villa was purchased in the mid-19th century by Princess Marianne of the Netherlands as a wedding present for her daughter, Charlotte (Carlotta in Italian). Carlotta died at 23 while giving birth to her fourth child and the home remained in the hands of her husband until his death in 1914, when it was left to the state. While the house is dotted with treasures, including sculptures by the renowned Antonio Canova, I am taken by a child's pink-painted bedroom - it belonged to Carlotta's only daughter and has been left as it was in the mid-1850s.

From Tremezzo, we cross by ferry to Bellagio, the most visited village on the lake and a favourite with Americans. Lunch on the terrace of Hotel Silvio not only provides glorious views of lake and mountains but also a chance to taste a platter of fish dishes created from the morning's fresh catch.

I meet Christian Ponzini, a fisherman and Silvio restaurateur. He's part of the Silvio dynasty, the family that built the hotel in 1919. Perch is one of the lake's many bounties and is served on a bed of risotto or topped with pesto.

While wandering Bellagio's narrow streets in the late afternoon, I visit the church of San Giacomo before taking a peek at another glorious building - Villa Serbelloni, now owned by the Rockefeller Foundation. The villa's lakeside wing is a hotel and as I look down at guests swimming in the floating pool, I wonder if George is lounging on one of the sunbeds under the villa's seriously cute candy pink-striped umbrellas. Nah, of course not, he has his own villa.

The writer travelled courtesy of the Italian Government Tourist Office and Rail Europe.

Trip notes

Getting there

Como is about 37 kilometres from Milan. The train from Milan central station to Como's San Giovanni station takes about 45 minutes. trenitalia.com. Alternatively, trains run from Milan Malpensa international airport (45 kilometres from Milan) to Como. Take the Malpensa express from Terminal 1 to Saronno station, then change for Como Lago Nord station, which is metres from the lake. www.malpensaexpress.it.

Staying there

In Como: Albergo Terminus, across from the ferry terminal, has lake views from some rooms. It's a short walk from Como Cathedral and Cavour Square's restaurants, including the lovely Imbarcadero. Double rooms from €152($198) a night with breakfast. albergoterminus.com; ristoranteimbarcadero.it.

In Bellagio: The Hotel Silvio has a commanding position above the lake offering both excellent food and rooms with balconies. Tours include fishing trips with the hotel owners. From €120 to €160 a night. bellagiosilvio.com.

See+Do

Ferries depart from Como wharf from 9.10am. The last boat, returning from Bellagio, departs at 5pm (6pm on Sundays). A shorter schedule operates in winter. Day passes are €18.60, with a €3 surcharge for an express boat leg. www.navigazionelaghi.it

Como is aneasy city to explore on a self-guided walk. The city of 80,000 is built over an ancient Roman settlement whose most famous citizen was the author Pliny the Elder (born AD23). His statue adorns the exterior of the city's grand mediaeval cathedral. Como derived its livelihood from the silk industry, which flourished from the industrial revolution until the 1970s. The Museo Seta Como (silk museum) explains the sophisticated process of jacquard weaving and displays beautifully restored looms and other machinery. The fashion houses of Milan relied on the expertise of Como's weavers. museosetacomo.com.

More information

www.lakecomo.com.

Thirty villages and one ‘cursed’ island

Fast, slow and car ferries link more than 30 villages on the shores of Lake Como and its one small island. About 15 minutes north of Como is Cernobbio, a cosmopolitan town of 7000 whose centrepiece is the 16th century Piazza Rinascimento and the Hotel Villa d'Este. Visit the baroque altar in the 18th-century Church of San Vincenzo, walk the tree-lined waterfront promenade or take a hike on well-marked trails to Mount Bisbino, 1300 metres above the town.

Varenna, on the lake's eastern shore, is a quieter village of narrow lanes, fishermen's houses and affordable accommodation. The gardens of two villas, Cipressi and Monastero, are open to the public, as is the ruined 11th-century Castle of Vezio, on the hill. The views are stunning and in summer there are wine and food events, along with daily displays of falconry with the castle's resident birds of prey. castellodivezio.it.

Isola Comacina, the only island on Lake Como, was once home to seven Byzantine churches. All bar one were destroyed in a bitter 10-year war about 1169. A curse was said to have been placed on it by the bishop of Como. Today, tourists and celebrities alike flock to the Locanda dell'Isola to dine on a six-course set menu that hasn't changed since the restaurant opened in 1947. Before the final course at each sitting, the host, Benvenuto Puricelli, burns brandy and sugar in a copper pot (to add to coffees) in a ceremony designed to dispel the ancient curse. comacina.it.

- Sun-Herald

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