Villa del Balbianello, Lenno
Perched on a wooded promontory jutting into Lake Como, Villa del Balbianello is arguably the most photographed building on the entire lake — and it earns every shot. Its terraced loggia, draped in wisteria and framed by sculpted hedges, has starred in James Bond films and Star Wars alike.
A Garden Suspended Over Water
The villa was built in 1787 on the ruins of a Franciscan monastery, and its gardens cascade down three sides of the headland in a series of stone terraces planted with magnolias, camellias and ancient plane trees.
Every turn reveals a new framed view of the Tremezzina shoreline — the kind of panorama that makes you stop mid-sentence and just stare. Arrive by the first morning ferry from Lenno to beat the crowds and catch the soft Alpine light on the water.
Inside the Rooms of Guido Monzino
The villa's last private owner, explorer Guido Monzino, filled the interiors with artefacts from his Everest and North Pole expeditions — navigation instruments, hand-drawn maps and ceremonial gifts from foreign heads of state sit alongside Flemish tapestries and 18th-century furniture.
FAI (the Italian National Trust) has preserved the rooms exactly as Monzino left them, giving the visit an intimate, almost eerie quality — as if the owner has just stepped out for a boat ride.
Access to the villa interior is only possible on guided tours, which run at fixed times and sell out fast on weekends, so book online before you travel.
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