Lake Como in Spring: The Villas in Bloom

The spring awakening of Lake Como's villas

With the arrival of spring, the gardens and parks of Lake Como reopen to the public, as reported by bellagiolakecomo.com. A widespread heritage of historic villas, botanical gardens and art collections dots the shores of the lake, from Tremezzina to Bellagio and on to Varenna.

Villa Carlotta, between gardens and collections

According to quicomo.it and villegiardini.it, the park of Villa Carlotta covers roughly eight hectares and includes the Valley of the Ferns, with its tree ferns, as well as citrus tunnels running alongside the staircase of the Italian garden. Villegiardini.it also traces the building's history: built at the end of the seventeenth century by the Clerici marquises of Milan, it passed in 1801 to Giovanni Battista Sommariva – who assembled there works by Canova, Thorvaldsen and Hayez – and was bought in 1843 by Princess Marianna of Prussia, who gave it to her daughter Carlotta on the occasion of her 1850 wedding to Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen. The princess died prematurely in 1855. Today the villa belongs to the Italian State, managed by the Ente Villa Carlotta, established in 1927.

Sources diverge on the reopening date: quicomo.it states Friday, 21 March 2025, while bellagiolakecomo.com gives a different version. According to quicomo.it, which reports numerous details not confirmed by other outlets, the villa is open daily from 10am to 7pm, with 2024 closing at nearly 250,000 admissions and already more than 1,000 visitors at special initiatives since the start of 2025. The same source lists a calendar of spring and summer events, including the "Spring Picnic" on 23 March, a visit to the historic camellias on 29 March, an open day on 6 April and the "Botanical Treasure Hunt" on 21 April, as well as two exhibitions scheduled from April to December.

Villa del Balbianello, between nature and film

On the opening calendar of Villa del Balbianello there is another discrepancy between sources: fondoambiente.it states that in March the villa is open on the 1st, 7th and 8th and then regularly from 14 March, from 10am to 6pm, while bellagiolakecomo.com contradicts this. Only fondoambiente.it provides details on prices and visiting arrangements: a park-only ticket reportedly costs 15 euros full price, while a villa-and-park ticket costs 25 euros, with discounts for FAI members and Tremezzina residents. The same source notes that the interiors can only be visited on a 50-minute guided tour in groups of up to 16 people, and that the villa cannot be reached by car but only on foot from Lenno or by lake via a private water taxi.

Villa Melzi and Villa Serbelloni, history and gardens

Regarding Villa Melzi, touringclub.it recalls that it was inaugurated in 1808 by Francesco Melzi d'Eril, designed by architect Giocondo Albertolli, with a garden curated by Luigi Canonica and Luigi Villoresi; the villa is still inhabited today and its interiors are not open to visitors. According to bellagiolakecomo.com, the gardens open on 23 March and remain accessible daily until the end of October, with spring blooms of camellias and azaleas on the way.

On Villa Serbelloni, comoeilsuolago.it and bellagiolakecomo.com agree that the property now belongs to the Rockefeller Foundation. Comoeilsuolago.it traces its long history: owned by the Sfondrati family as early as 1533, later passed to the Serbelloni family, converted into a hotel from 1907, and finally bequeathed to the Foundation by Princess Ella Walker in 1959. Today, according to this source, it hosts visiting scholars, and park visits are guided only.

Villa Monastero and Villa Cipressi

Only villamonastero.eu details the site's new opening hours, in effect from 1 September, with seasonal differences between the botanical garden and the house museum. Bellagiolakecomo.com, for its part, states that Villa Monastero opens on 2 March, while Villa Cipressi is said to be open on weekends until 28 March and then daily thereafter.

A mosaic of sources on the spring offerings

Overall, the picture emerging from the various outlets confirms widespread activity along the shores of the lake, with reopenings, blooms and cultural initiatives involving the main historic villas. However, the exact timing of some opening dates remains to be clarified, as sources do not fully agree.