“She who loves to travel” I want to do it all, see it all, and taste it all. Travel in Italy, especially Como Lake, is one way to experience the culture, food, people, and last but not least the beauty of the magic variety of the landscapes reflecting a peaceful union from town to town. You can easily be seduced by the sublime and graceful aspects of this lake.
We traveled from Milan, by train, to Como. Each day we would catch the ferry and spend the day exploring a new village. We did not have time to venture into the northern sections of the Lake but plan on returning to this remarkable place again in the near future. We spent five amazing days at Lake Como.
Villages around Como Lake
Como Lake, in ancient times called Lario, is characteristically shaped like a sprawling upside-down Y with its three arms, the western one called Como’s, the eastern called Lecco’s and finally the northern called Colico’s.
Como is the third Italian largest lake after Garda and Maggiore Lakes, covering a surface of ninety-one miles and a depth of 1,345 feet.
The lake’s geologic origin, as many other Italian sub-alpine lakes, is glacial. It’s basin was totally covered with an impressive glacier.
The Lake receives the rich contribution of thirty-seven affluent streams and is framed by imposing summits, the highest of which, Mount Legnone – over Colico – is 8,563 feet high.
The only island of the Lake is the islet of Comacina also called San Giovanni’s, property of the Accademia di Belle Arti of Milan, precious for its ruins of religious buildings on Roman pre-existences and even for its well preserved oratory of San Giovanni.
Lake Como is a particularly lucky territory, favoured by an unusually mild climate and the Appine range serving as a barrier to the winds coming from the North: all this allows an extraordinary richness in the flora boasting, above all in Tremezzina area which is one of the sunniest areas of the Lake.
The Lake was always exposed to invasions and rules. After the Franks, the town of Como finally gained its independence around the year 1000 but it was afterwards subject to the seignory of Misconti and Sforza.
The sweeping views from the Lake are exciting and unique: the princely residences showing off on the shores and the luxuriant vegetation provide a bewitching picture of harmony and gentle perfection.
Finally, the Lake also represents a precious naturalist resource: not far from Gravedona is the Pian di Spagna, so-called because of the Spanish troops settled there between the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Nowadays, this area is an important international naturalist reserve.
Enjoy photos of my journey by clicking on picture below.
Punta Balbianello
Gypsy Dreamer 