Here's a feature I wrote on the:"Romance of Como" for "Italia" magazine:
A
man desired by women the world over has set up home on Lake Como. He’s got a woman in tow and on these warm early autumn days, the lake
is abuzz with talk of their comings and
goings. When he passes by on his boat,
binoculars are raised in the hope of a glimpse of his elegant profile. Some
locals feel that his presence has lowered the tone and raised property
prices. But this is 1837 not the 21st
century. The furore is not being caused by a certain handsome Hollywood star.
When this man appears in public, his
female admirers fight for one of his velvet gloves or a silk
handkerchief which they often tear to shreds in their frenzy.
Franz
Liszt, the Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer, came to Bellagio, on Lake
Como, in September 1837 with his French mistress, Marie d’Agoult. He was the
biggest heart-throb of the 19th century. Women would swoon during his
performances. He had come to the lake to retreat from the fevered public
eye. In a letter written that first
month, Liszt said “When you write the story of two happy lovers, set it on the
banks of Lake Como. I do not know of any place which is more demonstrably
blessed by heaven; I have never seen another one where the charms of a life of
love can appear more natural.”
That
overwhelming sense of romance has never left this loveliest of the Italian
lakes. Shelley was beguiled by Lake
Como, renting a villa near Torno. The Villa Pliniano, had belonged to Pliny the
younger, and was built around a
waterfall but, as Shelley acknowledged, was half in ruins with vast,
ill-furnished apartments. Any shortcomings in his lodgings were, however
compensated by his travels along the lake with “the chestnut, myrtle,bay fig,
olive and laurel that overhang the
caverns and shadow the deep glens which are filled with the flashing light of
waterfalls.”
Flaubert
stayed, like Liszt, in lovely little Bellagio and described the scenery as
“Shakespearean.” In the 1995 film, “A Month By the Lake” Vanessa Redgrave found
late-blooming love with Edward Fox at the Villa del Balbianello on the western
shore of the lake on the Lenno peninsula. The same villa would be used Daniel
Craig’s James Bond to convalesce in
“Casino Royale.”
I
first came to Lake Como 20 years ago
when I was looking for a setting for the fictional home of Leo, the legendary opera singer who is the
hero of my novel, “The Singing House”. Great performer that he is, Leo appears
regularly at La Scala in Milan. He needs a base not far from that operatic
mecca. When I boarded the ferry that
meanders around the lake sailing from the genteel bustle of Como to the pretty
towns that line its shores, I knew that Leo had found his home. Just 30 miles north of busy, serious,
hard-working, money-minded Milan, I had stepped back into an elegant
belle-époque world where the ghosts of
opera divas and composers, writers, painters and a few exiled kings and
queens floated across the lake's royal blue waters. Leo would inhabit a villa
in Bellagio, “the pearl of the lake” as the little town is known.
Lake
Como is shaped like an upside-down “Y” with Bellagio, surrounded by water, at
that central point where the two arms, or rather, legs, meet.
A recent campaign by the local tourist office transformed the lake into
a delicate ballet dancer, walking on points, with Bellagio, again at the most,
um, central point. Because of its
location, Bellagio makes a good destination for a visitor who can only manage a
day trip to the lake. The ferry, Gestione Navigazione Laghi (39-031-579-211, www.navigazionelaghi.it)
leaves from Como, has a bar on board, and takes 2 hours 20 minutes, stopping at
Torno, Lenno,Cernobbio and other lovely towns along the shore.
A
flurry of interest in making my novel into a film brought me back to Lake Como
this spring after a 20 year absence. The town of Como is the jumping off point for any visit but only
hints at the beauty that lies beyond. I
had an early morning cappuccino on the piazza San Fedele, about 50 yards past
the cathedral. The half-timbered buildings on this little square are a reminder
of the close proximity of northern European, Germanic culture. The border with
Switzerland is just a few minutes drive away. The Piazza San Fedele also hides
a bit of true Italian surrealism in the shoe shop on the corner under the
arcades. Loud music plays, shoe boxes
are piled to the ceiling and
indifferent sales assistants stand around next to the remains of a Roman arch
in the back of the store.
The
lake was calling - actually, the ferry was due to leave. I was anxious that I would find the place
changed but had failed to realize that Lake Como’s location does not allow too
much transformation. It is the most
beautiful and romantic of the lakes because of its geography. The mountains are
closer here. Snow-capped alps can often be seen from the water. The sides of
Lake Como rise up higher and more dramatically than either Lake Maggiore or
Garda. There is little temptation or opportunity for the property developer to
deface Como’s dense green slopes. The little towns that line its shores and climb its foothills
retain their higgledy-piggledy air. Waterfalls still appear out of nowhere.
Villas still float in and out of the morning mists. And what villas they are.
One
of the first stops is Cernobbio, where the Villa Erba is located. This villa is right on the lake and was the
home of Italian film and opera director, Luchino Visconti. He was the son of
Duke Giuseppe Visconti so it is not surprising that so many of his luscious films
like “Death in Venice,” “The Leopard” and “Ludwig” look back on an older world of elegance and beauty that is
disappearing forever. The Luchino Visconti rooms in the villa contain an
exhibition devoted to his work.
Just
above the town of Cernobbio is the restaurant “Il Gatto Nero”. Built into the
hillside on three levels with a cosy, wooden, rustic feel and views out across
the lake, this is a favourite with locals.
Another
villa appears along the shore. We’re approaching Moltrasio and this is the
Villa Passalacqua. These days it is a luxury villa rental with some of the most
beautiful gardens on the lake but Napoleon also stayed here as did Churchill
and in 1829, opera composer ,Vincenzo
Bellini, lived here. His favourite diva, Giuditta Pasta, had her own villa just
across the lake and local legend claimed that Bellini could hear her voice
echoing across the water while he composed. Her villa still stands and is now a
sumptuous spa and hotel, named after Bellini’s most celebrated aria, “Casta
Diva” from “Norma”.
Villa
del Balbionello approaches on a small headland. With its two turrets,
ivy-covered walls and ornate stone staircase leading almost into the
water, this villa is said to be the most
photographed in Italy.
Oh
and in addition to being the setting for Vanessa Redgrave and that late love on
the lake, it was also the scene for the
wedding between Anakin and Padme in Star Wars, Episode 2.
I
had considered leaving that little fact out of this narrative. Sci-fi just did
not seem to belong in this sedate procession of elegant homes from another era.
I was waiting for our arrival at Villa
Carlotta further along the lake near Tremezzo. A 17th century villa, that had
belonged to various European princes and princesses, it is famous for the
spectacular azalea displays that turn the lakes shores magenta, orange and
scarlet in springtime. But an Italian
ferry passenger who speaks perfect English has engaged me in conversation.
“That’s
his villa,” he says, pointing to an elegant, smaller villa on the
western shore. “He’s lowered the tone by coming here,” he sighs. “All that
Hollywood riff-raff, all those women stalking him. And he’s sent property
prices through the ceiling.” Nevertheless, he raises his binoculars to see if
he can get a glimpse of George Clooney on his terrace. And so do I.
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