Where to Stay in Tremezzina

Where to Stay in Tremezzina, Between Grand Hotels and Local History

On Lake Como, Tremezzina has long been synonymous with world-class hospitality, with roots stretching back to the tradition of aristocratic tourism. As reported by in-lombardia.it and Wikipedia, the area has been renowned for this vocation since the 18th century, as evidenced by its historic villas and hotels that have made the lake's history.

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo, a Century of Belle Époque

The symbol of the area's luxury hospitality is the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, opened in 1910 at the height of the Belle Époque, as confirmed both by the hotel's official website and by ciaocomo.it. According to grandhoteltremezzo.com, it was founded by Enea and Maria Gandola, who had moved from Bellagio with three young children; the building is said to have combined the Art Nouveau style of the era with technical innovations such as two elevators and an electric sign bearing the hotel's name. The same source notes that more than sixty years after its founding, ownership passed to a new family, still at the helm today, which changed its name.

Ciaocomo.it reports that the hotel has recently opened its 110th season, and that since 2023 it has belonged to the same ownership group as Villa Passalacqua in Moltrasio, a residence the same source describes as having been admired for three hundred years and among the most exclusive addresses on Lake Como from the 18th century to today. The CEO of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo is said to be Valentina De Santis, who, according to ciaocomo.it, stated: «We are proud and excited to reopen the Grand Hotel Tremezzo with the new jewel of Villa Passalacqua and the rare pearl of the Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi. Two major investments that launch season 110, already in full swing». The General Manager is said to be Silvio Vettorello, who reportedly commented on the hotel's new kitchens – built, according to ciaocomo.it, during the winter closure – stating that «they were designed with the utmost care to reflect and enhance, even behind the scenes, the elegance of our Palace».

According to the same source, the Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi would be the only restaurant in the group dedicated to the Maestro to fully recreate his celebrated dishes, the result of a process begun eight years before the launch of season 110, with the kitchen team led by Osvaldo Presazzi. The hotel's T Spa, whose presence is also confirmed by touringclub.it in addition to ciaocomo.it, is said to have announced a new line of products and treatments created by the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella of Florence.

On the structural side, ciaocomo.it mentions 90 rooms and suites, a century-old park of 20,000 square meters, and panoramic views of Bellagio, the Riviera delle Azalee, and the peaks of the Grigne. Touringclub.it adds the presence of Villa Sola Cabiati, recently restored and used for receptions and events, two restaurants serving classic gourmet cuisine, and rooms with small balconies and marble bathrooms. According to it.wikivoyage.org, the hotel is located at Via Antica Regina 8.

A Young Municipality with a History Spanning Centuries

The municipality of Tremezzina, as in-lombardia.it, it.wikivoyage.org and Wikipedia all agree, was created in 2014 from the merger of Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo; the exact date of its establishment, February 4, 2014, is confirmed both by in-lombardia.it and Wikipedia. As wikivoyage and Wikipedia note, it is what in Italy is classified as a "comune sparso" (a scattered, multi-center municipality).

According to Wikipedia, Tremezzina is located in the Province of Como, has 4,937 inhabitants, covers an area of 29.41 km² with a population density of 167.87 inhabitants per km², and lies at 209 meters above sea level. The same source notes that the municipality takes its name from the former town of Tremezzo, while in-lombardia.it traces the name Tremezzina back to an ancient fishing village called «Tramezzo» or «Framezzo», which developed between the Roman Via Regina and the slopes of Monte Crocione.

The administrative history of the area, according to Wikipedia's reconstruction, is a complex one: a first unified municipality was established by Napoleonic decree on July 14, 1807, and abolished nine years later by the Austrians; a second attempt in 1928, merging Lenno, Mezzegra and Tremezzo, was dissolved in 1947 with the restoration of the pre-existing municipalities. In 1968, the Tremezzina Pastoral Zone of the Diocese of Como was reportedly established, comprising nineteen parishes, and in June 2000 Lenno, Ossuccio, Tremezzo and later Mezzegra, together with Colonno and Griante, formed the Unione dei Comuni della Tremezzina (Union of Municipalities of Tremezzina). The path toward a single municipality concluded with a consultative referendum on December 1, 2013, in which 63% of voters were in favor, and with the granting of a coat of arms and civic banner by presidential decree on June 13, 2017.

According to Wikipedia, the current mayor is Mauro Guerra (PD – Nuova Tremezzina civic list), elected on May 25, 2014, and now serving his third term since June 9, 2024; the municipality's town halls are located in Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo, with the hamlets of Albana, Azzano and Balogno, the telephone prefix 0344, and Our Lady of Succour as patron saint, with residents known as tremezzini. The same source also recalls that on April 28, 1945, Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petacci were shot in what was then the village of Mezzegra.

Villas, Islands and Film Sets

Among the area's landmark sites, Villa del Balbianello, located in the hamlet of Lenno on the tip of the Lavedo peninsula according to campinglavedo.it and Wikipedia, is owned by the FAI (Italian National Trust), as the latter source specifies. According to Wikipedia, the villa and its gardens have served as the setting for several film productions: some scenes from Dino Risi's 1961 film A Difficult Life, starring Alberto Sordi, the 1995 film A Month by the Lake, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones in 2002, and Casino Royale in 2006.

Wikipedia also highlights Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, an 18th-century building that once belonged to Gian Battista Sommariva, who is said to have amassed there works by Antonio Canova and Luigi Acquisti, as well as Isola Comacina, the only island on Lake Como, located opposite Ossuccio in the waters of the so-called Zoca de l'oli. According to the same source, the Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso is part of the nine Sacri Monti of the Prealps included in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2003, with the sanctuary's main structure completed in 1537 and fourteen chapels built between 1635 and 1710, adorned with 230 life-size stucco and terracotta statues.

How to Get There and Where to Stay

As for transport links, it.wikivoyage.org and Wikipedia agree: the municipality is crossed by the Strada Statale 340 Regina, which connects it to Como, is served by ASF bus lines via the Como-Colico C10 route, and can be reached by lake via boats, hydrofoils and ferries connecting it to other towns in the central lake area such as Varenna and Bellagio. Wikipedia adds that the ferry stops within the municipality include Isola Comacina in Ossuccio, Campo and Lenno in Lenno, and Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo. According to wikivoyage, the main airports for reaching the area are Bergamo-Orio al Serio, Milan-Malpensa and Milan-Linate.

In addition to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, wikivoyage lists among the area's accommodations the Hotel La Darsena, Hotel Bazzoni, Hotel Villa Edy, Hotel La Perla and Hotel Rusall, and also mentions the Tremezzina Music Festival, accessible from Ossuccio by lake boat.

For those seeking a more informal stay, campinglavedo.it describes the La Vedo campsite in Lenno, on the western shore of the central lake area, at the foot of Villa Balbianello and 200 meters from the lake itself. It is described as a family-run facility, with restrooms and free hot water, disabled-accessible toilets, coin-operated showers, a laundry, bar, restaurant and pizzeria, grassy and shaded pitches with 220V–6A electrical hookups, a Wi-Fi area, and a camper service area for water loading and discharge. Nearby, according to the same source, are a beach, a ferry landing, a supermarket, boat and canoe rentals, and a pharmacy 200 meters away. Listed rates are 20 euros per pitch, 10 euros per adult and 8 euros per child, with contact numbers +39.0344.56288 and +39.0344.56365.