The lakes are the landscape of silence, well-being in small doses, the lost gaze of the adventurer. The lakes concentrate the balance of nature, the placidity of life, the rest of the warrior. But few have the charm of Lake Como, in Lombardy, which possibly inspired Leonardo the setting where he placed La Gioconda. The privacy of its surroundings, its exclusive register, the respect for its panoramic views have attracted a unique clientele, including Stendhal, who suffered dizziness similar to the one he felt in Florence while walking along its shore. Even James Bond (Daniel Craig) was at the lake to film the final scenes of Casino Royale.
Bond couldn’t resist having a martini – stirred not shaken – albeit with vodka on his visit to the lake. There can be few pleasures like having this cocktail at sunset at the Villa d’Este hotel. Looking through the glass, the brandy takes on the blue tones of the lake and the olive seems to float adrift, even though it remains anchored in the depth of the inverted glass cone in which it is served. In the background there is a melody on the piano played by a guy who could have played Sam at the Rick Café in Casablanca, in what constitutes the soundtrack of happiness.
By the way, Buñuel prepared the martini with gin and six drops of Noilly Prat and Hemingway assured that the shadow of the vermouth bottle on the glass of gin was enough. No one has drunk more dry martini than Truman Capote, but no one has held the glass more gracefully than Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She, more than getting drunk with style, got drunk on her style.
There are no hotels like Villa d’Este, in Cernobbio, a small palace commissioned by a cardinal to the architect Pellegrino Tebaldi in the 16th century and which for a century and a half has been a privileged establishment, with 25 hectares of Renaissance gardens, where Hitchcock filmed his first movie, The Garden of Joy. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, Barack and Michelle Obama, or Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky have stayed in its rooms. It has a pool on the lake, which is quite an experience and a restaurant, Veranda, unbeatable for its views.
The lake’s ambassador is George Clooney, who owns a villa with a jetty and a romantic park on the water’s edge. His favorite restaurant is Il Gatto Nero, at the end of a narrow road that climbs up a hill. It is a popular establishment, where you dine on a terrace, by candlelight, from where you can watch the sunset over the lake, while you taste spaghetti with prawns, black garlic and crustacean ristretto. And maybe, if he glances at the next table, he discovers Clooney with his wife Amal Alamuddin: they are regular customers, something that the owners of the place repeat every night.
A unique attraction of Lake Como is renting a motorboat with an experienced guide that will take us from the Villa d’Este hotel to Bellaggio, one of the most beautiful towns, with a charming historic center and fashion shops that are worth a visit. On the way, you can admire the houses of Donatella Versace, Richard Branson, Madonna or the aforementioned Clooney. It wouldn’t hurt to put on your AirPods to listen to Maria Callas in the aria Casta Diva, from the Norma that Vicenzo Bellini composed during his stay at the lake. It is the inspiring force of lake.
