Lake Como, sometimes known as Lario, is a glacial lake in Lombardy, Italy. It is the third biggest lake in Italy after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 meters deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside of Norway. The lake’s depth is more than 200 meters below sea level.
Since Roman times, aristocracy and rich people have used Lake Como as a getaway. Today, it is a highly famous tourist destination with many important works of art and cultural treasures. There are several palaces and mansions there, including Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Numerous well-known personalities have resided around Lake Como and still do.
Its “Y” shape, which creates the “Larian Triangle” and has the little town of Canzo as its capital, is one of its distinctive features.
Etymology for Como
Although the lake is most commonly referred to as Lago di Como (Latin for “lake of Como”), its Latin name, Larius, is Italianized as Lario. Its name is derived from Como, also known as Comum to the Romans. In tourist guides, the lake may be referred to as Lake Como.
Geography in Como Lake
The lake resembles an inverted letter “Y” in form. The towns of Como and Lecco are located at the endpoints of the southwestern and southeast branches, respectively, while the town of Colico marks the start of the northern branch. A boat service runs a triangle route connecting the tiny villages of Bellagio, Menaggio, and Varenna, which are located at the junction of the three branches of the lake.
The Adda, which runs into Lake Como at Colico and exits at Lecco, is the main source of the lake’s nutrition. Because of this geological configuration, the southwest branch is a dead end, and Como frequently floods in contrast to Lecco.
The Larian Triangle, also known as the Triangolo Mariano, is the rugged pre-alpine region that lies between the two southern arms of the lake. Here is where the Lambro River originates. The Comunità Montana del Triangolo Mariano, an organization of the 31 municipalities that represent the area’s 71,000 residents, has its headquarters in the town of Canzo in the triangle’s center.
The climate in Como Lake
The Köppen climatic classification system classifies Lake Como’s climate as humid subtropical. The lake aids in keeping the surrounding area’s temperature warmer in the winter. Historical weather information from Como shows that the average daily temperatures range from 3.7 °C in January to 23.4 °C in July.
In July, the average water temperature can rise to 24 °C. The majority of snowfall happens at higher elevations and is irregular. The month of May sees the most rain, while January sees the least.
Tourism in Como Lake of Millan
Lake Como is a well-liked vacation spot because of its scenery, fauna, and spas. Kitesurfing, windsurfing, and sailing are all permitted thereIn 1818. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock that this lake was more lovely than anything he had ever seen, except Killarney’s arbutus islands. It is long and narrow, and it resembles a powerful river running through mountains and woods because of its aspect.
Various farms in the region surrounding Lake Como produce products including cheese, honey, milk, olive oil, eggs, and salamis. These farms may be found on listings, and most people visit the farm directly to make their purchases.
Dolce & Gabbana, an Italian luxury brand, hosted a fashion show in Lake Como in 2018.
Lakeside villas in Como Lake
- Since Pliny the Younger constructed the Tragedia and Comedia resorts nearby during the Roman era, the lake has become widely renowned for its beautiful villas. Numerous houses on the lake’s shoreline feature lovely gardens that take advantage of the warm temperature created by the lake’s 22.5 cubic kilometers of stabilizing water and can support a variety of subtropical and Mediterranean vegetation.
- In Tremezzo, on land measuring more than 7 hectares, Villa Carlotta was constructed in 1690 for Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici. It faces the Bellagio peninsula. At the same time, an Italian garden was constructed, complete with stairs, fountains, and statues. Later, the villa was sold to Giovanni Battista Sommariva, a prominent banker and politician during the Napoleonic era.
- His 1818 guest, Stendhal, is remembered at the beginning of La Chartreuse de Parme. Princess Marianne of Nassau bought it in 1843 as a wedding gift for her daughter Carlotta, in whose honor the villa is currently called. The Romantic-style woodland landscape park was designed by the latter and her husband, Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen.
- The Cernobbio native and cardinal Tolomeo Gallio constructed the Villa d’Este in 1568. From 1816 to 1817, Caroline of Brunswick, Prince of Wales’s estranged wife and eventual Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom, resided in the villa.
- This era is evident in the English-style manicured gardens. The building was converted into a posh hotel later in the century. Celebrity visitors are known to flock to the Villa d’Este these days.
- Villa del Balbianello, renowned for its beautiful terraced gardens, is located close to Isola Comacina on a peninsula on the western coast of the lake. It was the last residence of explorer Guido Monzino and was constructed in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan convent. Today, it contains a museum dedicated to his work.
Lakeside villas in Como Lake - The neo-classical Villa Melzi d’Eril in Bellagio was constructed in 1808–1810 by architect Giocondo Albertolli as the vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic, Duke Francesco Melzi d’Eril’s holiday home. The park is filled with enormous rhododendrons, as is typical on Lake Como, and features an orangery, a private chapel, beautiful statues, and a Japanese garden. Stendhal and Franz Liszt were among the Villa’s nineteenth-century visitors.
- The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio facility, a 50-acre worldwide conference facility built and run by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, is located in Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio. It also runs a “scholar-in-residence” program for academics from all over the world. It is thought that this was the location of the villa “Tragedia” owned by Pliny the Younger. Alessandro Serbelloni built the city’s renowned park towards the end of the 18th century.
- Numerous prominent persons, including Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Lionel Messi, Pierina Legnani, Julian Lennon, and José Mourinho, now reside on or have previously owned property near Lake Como.
Ferries in Como Lake
A well-established public transportation network connecting the several small villages surrounding Lake Como is the Lake Como ferry service. The newly founded Società privilegiata per impresa dei Battelle a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto launched the steamer with sails “Lario” in 1826, marking the beginning of a motorized service.
The Gestione Commissariale Governativa and later the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, a government agency that also oversees services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda, have been in charge of the system’s administration since 1952.
There are now three primary services:
- With extra shuttles to the mid-lake region, there are mentorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Piona or Colico and Como town).
- Services that travel a similar path quickly but charge more, make fewer stops and employ faster hydrofoils.
- Ferries that exclusively go between Cadenabbia and the well-known mid-lake communities of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna. Some of these boats can transport both passengers and cars.
Sacro Monte di Ossuccio in Como Lake
On a steep incline between olive orchards and forests on the western shore of Lake Como, overlooking Isola Comacina, lies the Sacro Monte di Ossuccio, a place of worship. Along the path leading to the Monastery are fifteen chapels with Baroque architectural influences that are devoted to the Mysteries of the Rosary and were constructed between 1635 and 1710. The final structure in the line, this one is devoted to the Virgin’s Coronation.
The Sacri Monti in Piedmont and Lombardy, including Ossuccio, was included on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 2003.
Villages, vacation spots, and other noteworthy locations close to the lake
Western shore, from North to South
Domaso, Gravedona, Dongo, Musso, Menaggio, Cadenabbia, Griante, Tremezzo, Mezzegra, Lenno, Ossuccio, Sala Comacina, Colonno, Argegno, Brienno, Moltrasio, Cernobbio, Como
South shore, from West to East
Como, Blevio, Brunate, Torno, Nesso, Bellagio, Malgrate, Lec
Eastern shore, from North to South
Colico, Dorio, Dervio, Bellano, Varenna, Lierna, Mandello del Lario
In literature and the arts about como lake
The Lake of Como, a poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, was included in Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap Book in 1837. It depicts a Samuel Prout picture that William Miller engraved.