Exploring the Villas of Lake Como

Sep, 2013

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As promised in my last post on the French Alps, in this post I’m excited to share some photos from the second part of my summer vacation. A visit to Lake Como in Italy offered an amazing opportunity to enjoy local scenery, food, wine and of course, some gorgeous gardens!

After watching James Bond recover along the shore of Lake Como in Casino Royale, I was determined to find the villa where the end of the movie was filmed. Villa Balbianello was the site, and is located about half way up the lake in the town of Lenno. The best way of getting around the lake is by boat (a ferry system that runs between towns), so luckily the first glimpse of the villa is by water.

Approaching Villa Balbianello

The style of the garden is mostly formal, but because it is built on a hill (so the axial plans and long vistas were not possible) there are winding paths along the sloping property that feel more park like in nature. The property includes a series of buildings, the most stunning of which is the vine covered Loggia. The sculpturally pruned trees and vines around the property are trademarks of a formal style.

One of the attributes I liked the most was the restrained color palette; the building and paths are a soft stone color and plantings were limited to green with the exception of containers with bright red geraniums. This restraint and repetition made the space feel very peaceful, and kept the focus on the gorgeous views.

The Loggia

Vines pruned to create a patter on the Loggia columns

Fastigiate Junipers punctuate the garden like exclamation points!

A formal statue with gorgeous Lake Como in the background

The second Villa we visited was the Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, a bit further up the lake. This Villa is both a museum and botanic garden, with a variety of different garden spaces. The plantings were generally more colorful (and less serene) but a similar formal style was evident.

The front courtyard featured a beautiful fountain and knot garden, creating a great view from above. As at the Villa Balbianello, the repetition of potted plants created an effective sense of rhythm and direction to the space.