We awoke to beautiful sunshine on a glorious Lake Como day! Today, we’re going to explore Bellagio. After a quick breakfast we jumped on one of the ferry boats that plies the waters between the towns of Menaggio, Varenna and Bellagio. A short 15 minute sail to Varenna then another 15 minutes onward to Bellagio. We walked along the waterfront to I Giardini di Villa Melz. Francesco Melzi d’Eril, count of Lodi and Vice president of the First Italian Republic in the time of Napoleon, decided at the beginning of the 19th century to build a summer residence at Bellagio. The villa was built between 1808-1810; Count Melzi’s taste for the neo-classical style came from Napoleonic France and the villa is flanked by white columns and the regular succession of the windows enhance the classical style of the house when viewed from the lake. We walked our 15,000 steps in search of a beach to take a dip in Lake Como then later we walked the waterfront promenade, lined with expensive shops and brand boutiques, and then made our way up the hill behind, exploring the narrow streets lined with more, but less expensive restaurants, wine and knick-knack shops. We found a nice restaurant (Trattoria San Giacamo) and shared a pizza and caprese salad with some local rose wine – all very nice. The upper square in Bellagio was filled with games so, of course, we tried our hand at them and had some fun. But bus loads of tourists and the never ending ferries from surrounding towns disengorged thousands of people into Bellagio and the place was soon swarming. Time to go! We caught the next ferry out to Menaggio and enjoyed an afternoon sampling wines and browsing shops in a much quieter place.
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