Bellagio (Comasco: Belàs) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is situated on Lake Como, known also by its Latin name Lario, where the lake’s two southern arms branch, creating the Triangolo lariano. Bellagio’s location at the tip of this promontory, looking out across the lake’s northern arm towards the Alps, has long been noted for its scenic beauty. Bellagio is part of the Comunità montana del Triangolo lariano, headquartered in Canzo.
Bellagio, often called the Pearl of Lake Como, is known for its scenic beauty and historical significance as a tourist destination. Tourism is fundamental to Bellagio’s economy, supporting local businesses and contributing to the preservation of its cultural heritage. The town’s historic center and villas like Villa Serbelloni and Villa Melzi d’Eril attract visitors throughout the year. Bellagio’s recognition extends beyond Italy and inspired the name of the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Bellagio’s historic center, known as the Borgo, is situated 350 meters (1,150 ft) southwest of the promontory’s tip, between Villa Serbelloni and the Como arm of the lake. A park and marina occupy the promontory’s furthest point. Three streets, Mazzini, Centrale, and Garibaldi, run parallel to the shore in ascending order. Seven medieval stone stairways (“salite”) intersect these streets, climbing uphill. The Basilica of San Giacomo and the Torre delle Arti Bellagio, a medieval tower, are located in a piazza at the top of the Borgo.
The traditional dish of Bellagio is Tóch, a polenta dish mixed with butter and cheese, eaten with a wooden spoon and accompanied by dried lake fish, cold stuffed chicken, or homemade salami. Red wine is typically shared from a communal jug. Desserts include miasca, a cornflour and dried fruit cake; Pan meino, made with white and yellow flour, eggs, butter, milk, and elderflowers; and paradèl, a wafer made of white flour, milk, and sugar.
The University of Milan (Italian: Università degli Studi di Milano; Latin: Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale (“the Statal [University]”), is a publicresearch university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 60,000 students, and a permanent teaching and research staff of about 2,000. read more…
The Naviglio Grande is a canal in Lombardy, northern Italy, connecting the Ticino river near Tornavento (23 km (14 mi) south of Sesto Calende) to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the Darsena, in Milan. It drops 34 m (112 ft) over 49.9 km (31.0 mi). It varies in width from 22 to 50 m (72 to 164 ft) from Tornavento to Abbiategrasso, dropping to 15 m (49 ft) between there and Milan. Initially it carries 63 cubic metres per second (2,200 cu ft/s), 116 outlets take water to irrigate 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) leaving the canal 12 m (39 ft) wide and carrying 12 m³/s (420 cu ft/s) as it enters the dock. read more…
The Villa d’Este, originally Villa del Garovo, is a Renaissance patrician residence in Cernobbio on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy. Both the villa and the 25-acre (100,000 m²) park which surrounds it have undergone significant changes since their sixteenth-century origins as a summer residence for the Cardinal of Como. Nevertheless, visiting the garden in 1903 for Century Magazine, Edith Wharton found this to be ‘the only old garden on Como which keeps more than a fragment of its original architecture’, and noted that ‘though Queen Caroline anglicised part of the grounds, the main lines of the Renaissance garden still exist’. Since 1873, the complex has been a luxury hotel. read more…
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona (to the southeast), Brescia (southwest), and Trentino (north). Being easily accessible from the north via the Brenner Pass, the lake is a major tourist destination, including a number of exclusive hotels and resorts along its shore. read more…
