West Bank
The west bank of Como is no longer so refined today, as in the period, when in the hotel Villa d'Este, near the next port of Como CERNOBBIO, Greta Garbo stopped. However, the hotel is still one of the most luxurious in Europe and there is still no shortage of people willing to pay 500000L per night in exchange for the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Garbo among the statues dotted with statues., fountains and grottoes of extravagant gardens.
Villa Pliniana and Isola Comacino
Less affluent tourists have to settle for a look at the gardens from the deck of the ship. IN TORNO, on the opposite shore, where the vessel also stops, in the sixteenth century, on the site of one of the numerous villas of Pliny the Younger, built Villa Pliniana. Water from the spring behind the villa supplies the pool and continues to gush out every six hours, as described by Pliny the Younger. Rossini used to come here to compose, and Shelley wanted to rent a villa and described it as great, but ruined and having "poorly furnished apartments"”.
The ship stops further in OSPIDALETTO, from where you can take a boat to the only island on the lake, Isola Comacino. In the Middle Ages, it was a place of refuge for political refugees, until, when the inhabitants of Como invaded the island and turned it into a mess. Currently, it is almost completely abandoned, only a few artists live here. You can spend a pleasant few hours walking among the ruins of nine churches that once existed here., but food is better to take with you, because the only restaurant on the island is expensive.
Tremezzina
Slightly semicircular, a stretch of coastline lined with palm trees and cypresses behind a peninsula cutting significantly into the lake, is known as Tremezzina. It has the mildest climate in the whole como, the lake is the quietest, and the most lush vegetation. It is beautiful here at any time of the year, although the most spectacular bay looks in the spring, when it acquires color from blooming azaleas, Rhododendrons, magnolia and camellia.
In the southern part of Tremezzina, LENNO, there was another villa of Pliny the Younger, in which, as he wrote, he could fish from his bedroom window. In 1944 two families of refugees, living in Villa Belmonte, in the MEZZEGRA located a little higher on the slope, witnessed a scene of a completely different nature. A car stopped under their windows, got out of it, holding nervously by the flaps of his coat, stout man in a black beret, behind him is a woman and a tall pale man with a machine gun. The stout man was Mussolini, Woman, his mistress Claretta Petacci, and a tall man the leader of the guerrillas, Waltger Audasio. Audasio pulled the trigger, but Claretta pounced on him by grabbing the butt of the rifle. He tried to shoot twice more, but the trigger jammed. So he took his driver's machine gun and pointed it at Mussolini., who said: "Shoot me in the chest”. Audasio shot Claretta first, killing her on the spot, and then fulfilled Mussolini's last wish.
Between the next two stops of the ship, TREMEZZO and CADENAB-BIA, the most English of the summer resorts on como, consisting exclusively of villas and hotels, hugely crowded in the summer by holidaymakers, is located Villa Carlotta (IV-IX 9.00-18.00; III and X 9.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.30; 4000L). The one built by the Princess of Prussia for her daughter Carlotta, white and pink neoclassical villa, currently houses a collection of pretentious sixteenth-century statues by m.in. Canovy. There is a frieze ordered by Napoleon, which depicts Alexander the Great entering Babylon. Because the emperor failed to pay for it, for he had been banished before, the bill was settled by a prince, who in return demanded that his character be placed in Alexander's army (at the end, next to the artist's figure). However, the biggest attraction of the villa is the beautifully landscaped, almost six-hectare garden of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas.
There are two budget hotels in Tremezzo. Located right on the banks of La Darsena (•0344/40423) has double rooms for 28 OOOL, and because the restaurant is good, it is worth ordering full board for extra 32 OOOL. Approximately 3 km up (turn just behind the gas station), in a beautiful area stands Bel Sit (•0344/40462), which has double rooms for 36 500L (for the season it is necessary to book many months in advance).
MenAGGIO, further north, has a less "senile" character.” than Tremezzo. To the left of the main road (coming from the south), on Via IV Novembre, is the youth hostel La Primula (•0344/32356), where the beds cost 8000L per person. The windows of the rooms overlook the lake and when the hostel is full, and the weather is nice, you can sleep on the balcony. For lovers of active recreation there are many possibilities to choose from. The hostel offers discounted rental of windsurfing equipment and entrance tickets to the local Lido, it also has maps of the surrounding hills with marked hiking trails. From Menaggio you can also go to LUGANO in Switzerland (return ticket costs 8000L). Outside July and August, Ristorante Alpino on Via Carlo Comozzi (•0344/32082) has double rooms for 26 OOOL, and located on the south side of the old town (on the left side of the road) grand hotel san francisco (• 0344/32368), does it offer double rooms for 34 OOOL. The best restaurants are Yapore, just behind the tourist office, and Trattoria da Gino, which is łubiana by the locals, which serves good corporate dinners for 13 500L.
Northern part of the lake
The next major stop of the ship is the not very picturesque GRAVEDONA. It is one of the few towns on the lake, which tradition is equal to Como. Medieval Gravedon, along with nearby Dongo and Sorico, was part of an independent republic, which in the fifteenth century was persecuted by the inquisitor Peter of Verona for doubting the role of the pope, as God's vicar on earth. The inhabitants got rid of him by splitting his head with an axe., but the Pope rewarded him for his devotion with a quick canonization., appointing him patron of the Inquisitors. In the coastal church of Santa Maria del Tiglio (VII-IX; in other periods the key must be taken from a green house by the road) there is a prophetic, Twelfth-century sculpture of a centaur hunting a deer, which in early Christian symbolism meant the persecution of the church. The English poet Wordsworth, who later stayed here, went on a trip by the moonlight, got lost and landed on an unknown rock, where he could not sleep, for "he was tortured by insect bites”.
For those looking for accommodation, from VII to IX are open, located behind the church towards the lake, Locanda SereneUa (•0344/80060) and camping Serenella. Behind Gravedona, the coast becomes flatter and less built-up, but because the winds blow here favorable for sailing and windsurfing, north of the pleasant, small DOMASO, there are several campsites and cheap, modern hotels. On a side road just behind the bridge, just above the water, there is a youth hostel (III-X).