My villa on Lake Como (and a few boaty bits)

[MapisM]

Ok, not exactly MY villa, unfortunately.
But since it belongs to the Italian National Trust, of which myself and swmbo are members, it's nice to be entitled to say that it's a property of ours, sort of.
Anyway, even if the boaty bits are actually limited to a couple of vessels spotted near the villa - unsurprisingly, since it's almost completely surrounded by the lake - I thought you might enjoy a few "summer-appetizer" pics.

For anyone who might be thinking to visit Lake Como (Andiemac, take note for when you will be there: it's not far from where you will stay), you can scroll down the following webpage for further details:
http://eng.fondoambiente.it/beni/villa-del-balbianello-fai-properties.asp

Highly recommended. Btw, also the interiors are stunning, hosting also an exhibition of bits coming from the explorations of Monzino, the former owner.

Njoy!

 

[kashurst]

Beautiful - is that the place in Casino Royale near the end?

 

[alt]

Can we come visit?

 

[Fantasie 19]

Beautiful - is that the place in Casino Royale near the end?

I thought that too....

 

[Pinnacle]

Can we come visit?

Count me in! :encouragement:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Count me in! :encouragement:

Looks like Mapism is organising a forum bbq at his villa then

 

[Akers_like]

Thanks for those pictures. Spending 5 nights in Bellagio, middle of June and really looking forward to visiting the lakes villages by boat. Arrive via the Bernina Express over the Alps from Chur in Switzerland.

 

[Pinnacle]

Looks like Mapism is organising a forum bbq at his villa then

I have always thought he was a kind and generous chap!

 

[scubaman]

Count me in! :encouragement:

Me too!

Nice pics M and a stunning scenery. I've always wanted to visit the lakes.

 

[Sneds]

If there's a Riva at the end of the jetty I'll come, oh and a nice fat sausage on the barbie!
And maybe a Peroni or two?

 

[Seastoke]

took our boat to lake maggior some great islands on that lake too

 

[rafiki_]

Lovely pics MM. This truly is a beautiful part of the world, and I was quite close at Bergamo last week on business. A long weekend in the region is due

 

[AndieMac]

Fantastic photos MM, what a stunning location. Just showed A while we are sitting here having breakfast and to say she is excited is an understatement

She also believes George Clooney has a place nearby, and wanted to know if he will be available to come around for drinks

 

[alt]

Count me in! :encouragement:

You lot can all come visit me on Lough Corrib (will we fit us all into a teeny 39footer?) so long as MM brings us to Italy

 

[MapisM]

Wow, it seems that I'm not alone in appreciating nice spots!
I'm really glad that you enjoyed the pics, but trust me, they actually don't do justice to the real thing.
Aside from the fact that they were taken with a crappy Samsung mobile phone, no camera on earth could give an idea of the magic atmosphere of the place.
Simply put, the location is (imho, of course) the best in the world for a waterfront house.
And I'm not comparing it with an apartment in Marbella, of course.
I'm thinking of alternatives like Casa Malaparte in Capri, or Villa Fiorentina in Cap Ferrat, just to name a couple of examples.
It's indeed that stunning.
TBH, I'd prefer to have a house like that with salt (rather than fresh) water around it, but the place is absolutely breathtaking anyway.
Here's the location in Gmaps, which gives an idea of the privileged position:
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.9652484,9.2023824,208m/data=!3m1!1e3

Re, your comments, following the order of replies:

@kashurst (Casino Royale): possibly, but I can't be positive about that. I've lost count of the movies where some scenes were filmed around Lake Como!

@alt: of course you (and anyone else) can visit the spot. As I said, it's a property of the IT National Trust, and open to public. There's an entrance fee for non-members (13 Eur including the guided tour, IIRC), but it's well worth it.

@Deleted User (BBQ - and others supporting the idea): LOL, I'd be more than glad to arrange a forum meeting/BBQ in that spot, but I'm afraid that's beyond the membership privileges...
Otoh, the place is also rented for events (concerts, weddings, etc.), subject of course to approval from the trust. So, never say never....

@Akers_like: sounds like a lovely journey. Bellagio is not far from this spot, you can reach it in 10 minutes by boat.
In the second to last of the above pics, you can see Bellagio in the distance. It's the village above the small boat, on the right side of the flag.

@Pinnacle/Scubaman/alt: just say when!

@Sneds: well, I don't dislike a Peroni now and then, but I can assure you that we have also some better liquid stuff worth trying!
Otoh, I'm afraid that none of the Aquarama owners (of which there are indeed some, around there) are not very keen on offering free rides on their pride and joy...

@seastoke (Lake Maggiore): oh yes, absolutely. As much as I prefer Lake Como overall, the islands as such are more interesting on Lake Maggiore.
In fact, in Lake Como there's only one small island ("Comacina"), which is NOT where the above villa is located - though it's not far from there - and it's nothing worth writing home about.

@rafiki: next time you'll be in Bergamo, send me a PM. My main home is not far from there, it would be nice to share a glass of wine instead of a pc keyboard, for a change...!

@AndieMac: LOL, yeah, George does own another of the (many) lake villas, in Laglio, nearer to Como.
Actually, it's not as nice as this one, but I guess A wouldn't complain about that, if invited for a Nespresso coffee....!

 

[rafiki_]

@rafiki: next time you'll be in Bergamo, send me a PM. My main home is not far from there, it would be nice to share a glass of wine instead of a pc keyboard, for a change...!

Yep, will do. Our office is on the Kilometro Rosso. I'm sure you will know this.

 

[tcm]

Beautiful - is that the place in Casino Royale near the end?

Nope, that was Villa del Balbianello nearby (ish)

 

[jfm]

Nope, that was Villa del Balbianello nearby (ish)

Nah, Bond was filmed at Villa Gata or something like that. Mapis's villa is Balbianello

Balbianello is beautiful and thanks for the pictures MapisM. That it beats Fiorentina is quite a punchy claim though!

 

[MapisM]

Guilty as charged for my poor knowledge of 007 movies. But if as I guess you mean Villa La Gaeta, well, they must have been on a tight budget...
That's in fact just a big house, built at the beginning of the previous century, purposedly designed to impress, with the appearance of a medieval castle which shouts fake from some distance, afterwards restructured in residential apartments (see below).
Aside from being in a nice place, right on the lake, I would not even consider swapping my apartment (which is at least in a real 17th century historical villa, with 3' thick stone walls and 14' high vaulted ceilings) with one in La Gaeta.
In fact, I can think of at least a dozen of much nicer places around Lake Como which they could have chosen - and indeed many movie directors (obviously with more discerning taste!) did choose!

Re. my previous comparison with La Fiorentina, aside from being obviously just imho, actually I was talking of the best waterfront location for a villa, rather than the building as such.
I've never been inside La Fiorentina, but I'm aware that it's highly regarded, so I suppose there must be a reason.
Otoh, its location never impressed me much. I mean, I understand that many people might prefer Cap Ferrat overall to Lake Como or Capri. Even if I'm not one of them, but that's me, of course.
Talking of its specific spot instead, I don't think it's such a great idea to build a luxury house with the main facade facing North, in our hemisphere.
In fact, it's not incidental that the first alternative to Balbianello which popped to my mind in terms of waterfront placement was Casa Malaparte in Capri.
A debatable building from an architectural standpoint as it might be, it was built in an unquestionably breathtaking spot (see below).
In fact, on second thought, I think it's fair to say that Fiorentina is nowhere near both Malaparte and Balbianello, in terms of waterfront location - regardless of how nicer the villa itself might be.
All imho, ça va sans dire!

Edit: I just realised that my OP pics told nothing of the location I was talking about, so I'm adding these to give at least an idea - with another boaty bit, for good measure!
Plenty more available on the web - if anyone's interested, just google for Villa Balbianello.

 

[kcrane]

Lovely pics