Weekend In Villa Carlotta

Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy.

Whenever you visit a particular place and you admire their architecture particularly the houses in the City, do you become curious and wonder how do the people live there? We were able to satisfy our curiosity by visiting the Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy. During a lake cruise along the scenic, beautiful and pristine Lake Como, we decided to purchase a ticket to visit the Villa Carlotta during the day. The Villa is one of the grand houses along Lake Como that is open to the public. We embarked on the ferry stop at Tremezzo then walked to the gates of Villa Carlotta to discover the Grand House and its wonderful gardens. The gardens at Lake Como is always included in the Top 10 Gardens of the World. We could not miss the chance to visit the Villa to discover who lived there, how they lived in the Villa and walk along their grand gardens overlooking the beautiful Lake Como and the surrounding mountains in this part of Northern Italy. 

Villa Carlotta was originally built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 facing the Italian Dolomites and also near town of Bellagio, in Lake Como. Then in 1801 the Villa was sold to a politician,Gian Battista Sommariva who further developed the Villa to become a centre for Art and improved the gardens to be one of the best along the lake. Then in 1843, Sommariva's heirs sold the Villa to Princess Marianne of Nassau, wife of Albert of Prussia. The couple gifted this Villa to their daughter Carlotta upon her marriage to Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen. Hence, the name Villa Carlotta. When we toured the Villa, we saw their public and private rooms filled with their art collections, Sculptures by Canova, Palamedes' Eros & Psyche, Terpsychore The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet, furniture, portraits and other knickknacks which gave us a glimpse of their lifestyle in the Villa. 

View of the Main Gate and the lower formal garden.
Royals and Aristocrats from Italy and all over Europe come to Lake Como for their Spring and Summer vacations to enjoy everything that Lake Como has to offer especially its fresh air, clear, sparkling water of the lake, Grand Villas and Grand Hotels in every town. 

Georg II was fond of Botany and further developed the garden with its wide variety of plants and flowers. 

The view from inside. Even in their Vacation homes, the Royals lived grand lives. 

In the garden, there are potted plants too.  In the far distance, you will see the Italian Alps some still covered with snow. 

The town behind me is Bellagio. From Como, the ferry stops here in Tremezzo then the next stop is Bellagio. It is about a two hour Scenic Ferry ride from the town of Como to Bellagio. There is an Express boat which takes about forty five minutes from Tremezzo to Como. We purchased the ferry tickets from the town of Como including the ticket to the Villa Carlotta. There is also a scenic drive to these towns driving along amazing long tunnels built through the Mountains. 

The park has a pathway surrounded by its collection of ferns, century old cedars and sequoias.

The park also has a Rock Garden planted with Roses. Other Spring flowers we saw were azaleas and Rhododendrons. 

Roses everywhere including on the rock wall.

Underneath the bitter orange groves. I love the fragrant smell of these orange groves together with the roses in the Rock Garden which were beside this alley of orange groves. It reminded me of  a Jo Malone scent.

Oh the beautiful town of Bellagio. Every town along Lake Como has its own character and beauty. We stayed here in Bellagio which you can read from my previous post, Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni and also my post about Weekend In Lake Como.
Visiting Lake Como was truly a place of heaven.

I hope you enjoyed our visits to various Spring gardens during this month of May.


I wish you all a Happy Weekend!

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Discover A Grand Hotel in Bellagio

Entrance to the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.

This is our final destination during our cruise in Lake Como, the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, the only five star luxury Hotel in the town of Bellagio, Lake Como. This Villa was built in 1850s in the Neo-classical style for a Milanese Aristocratic family. This hotel is beauty in itself. Upon arrival, I was so excited and loved both the outdoor view and the Villa itself. Wait, till you see the swimming pool and the outdoor restaurant with the majestic views of the Italian Alps and Lake Como. Then inside the hotel was equally majestic, opulent  and elegant setting too. Service was impeccable including in their One Star Michelin, Mistral Ristorante. This hotel has been awarded since 2004 by the Travel & Leisure Magazine for "Top 50 Hotels in Europe" and in 2005 by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine for "Top 5 Resorts in Europe."  In the evening, there were the stars and the lamp posts giving some light in the dark horizon. When you get a chance to visit Lake Como, stop by in the beautiful town of Bellagio to visit this Grand Hotel and also explore its hillside town filled with shops and restaurants.

In the entrance, a greeting of lovely spring roses with the majestic view of the Alps and Lake Como.

Then an exciting view of the Villa's Swimming pool overlooking the lake and the Alps.

The Villa's facade with the view of the restaurant on the Main Floor and the swimming pool below.

A sandy lounge with swimming access to the lake.


Al Fresco Lunch with a View.

A closer view of the Ferry from our lunch table.

Endless mountain ranges and the lake.

My lunch of Tagliatelle pasta with fish lake sauce.

Caesar salad and Spaghetti Bolognese.

Our view.

Exploring the hillside town of Bellagio. Climbing up the stairs to reach the top, with shops along the way.

Bellagio Ferry Dock.


 "I shall return."
  -General Douglas MacArthur famous quote upon leaving the Philippines during WWII.


Enter to win my blog's Michael Kors Bag Giveaway.

Have a fabulous week ahead!

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