Sunday Times Magazine F/C 6-7 - 06/08/2013 05:02:11 PM - Plate:

August 11 20136 ❘ COOL SPOT LAKE COMO ❘ 7August 11 2013

For many, Lake Como is famous for its ties to dishy celebs such as George Clooneyand Daniel Craig. But it has so much more gorgeousness than that. By Lisa Templeton

‘G OD bless the Italians,” Imuttered to myself. I wassitting in the early morningsun at the Caffé Bar Sport on

the Piazza della Chiesa in Bellagiowatching the world go by.

Before me was a steaming cappuccino,my five-year-old, tongue out, penning apostcard to her dad, and a view of thesquare with its trickling fountain and thesturdy facade of the 11th-century Basilicadi San Giacomo.

In the doorway to the café were threewaiters, slumped and sucking on cigaretteswhile they talked in Italian and blew smokeout of the sides of their mouths.

Suddenly my eye was caught by two

women jogging towards us, one 20-ish andthe other possibly 45, both trim andattractive — clearly mother and daughter.

The lounging waiters stiffened likehunting dogs, suddenly alert, and fixedtheir eyes upon the mother, tracking her asshe ran by with her black ponytailsw i n g i n g .

When she’d finally disappeared aroundthe corner, they turned to each other withwide eyes and one breathed: “BellaMamma!”

And that’s when I thought: God blessI t a ly .

For this is part of Italy’s charm — itschivalry and reverence for women,regardless of age. It’s in the proffered hand

of the man helping you onto the bobbingwater taxi and the smile of the tall,Dantesque man at the heavenlydelicatessen, the Bellagio Carni Caligari, ashe hands over a neat paper package ofparma ham, almond-stuffed olives androasted aubergine.

There is a sense of safety in a littlevillage such as Bellagio, perched as it is onthe tip of the peninsula that splits LakeComo, or Lago di Como as the locals haveit, into its distinctive Y-shape. Here, whereall cobbled streets lead steeply down tothose lapping shores, there is nowhere elseto go and you can drop your fear thatsomeone may wish to liberate your bag.

Then there is a heady mix of soft light

and gentle warmth, the flowers drippingfrom the turmeric-yellow and rose-peachbuildings that run down narrow alleys tothe water, and the distant views of bobbingyachts on sun-dazzled water backed bysnow-capped mountains. It’s all soseductive, you may suddenly find that youwant to wear dresses and trip down thestreets in heels, swinging your handbag.

If you mention Lake Como to prettymuch any woman, chances are she willrespond with two words: George Clooney.

H o l ly wo o d ’s ultimate silver fox isperhaps the lake’s most famous residentand one of its biggest marketing trumpcards. Newly single, he is currentlysplashed across gossip-magazine covers

around the globe, grinning handsomely invine-shaded cafés on the lake’s shores, andtaking regular outings in his motor boat,ironically named Boat.

If he is heartbroken, it seems a spell athis opulent villa in Laglio, the small townon the lake’s southwest shores, is doing agreat deal towards helping.

And while it is true that he adds to thenatural beauty of the lake, there is farmore to Lake Como than this.

The playground to the titled and well-heeled since Roman times, when the likesof Pliny the Younger came here to take abreak from upholding Roman law, the lakeis staggeringly beautiful.

Perched on the Swiss border and carvedout by glaciers, it is one of Europe’sdeepest lakes at over 400m, which takes itto 200m below sea level at its deepest.Towered over by the mountains that heraldthe Alps to come, its wooded shorelines aredotted with charming red-roofed villages,church towers, cypresses and palatialvillas, which somehow manage to take up acolossal amount of space in the mostelegant and understated way. Today thismay be the playground for some of thewo r l d ’s nouveau riche, but by God, is itc l a s sy .

We visited the Villa del Balbianello, aferry ride across the water from Bellagio,and a short wooded walk from the café-lined village of Lenno.

This palatial residence is where DanielCr a i g ’s James Bond lay on a deckchairamid fabulous gardens, recovering fromtorture and being unwittingly betrayed bythe seductive Vesper in Casino Royale.

Built for a cardinal in 1787 on the site ofa 13th-century Franciscan monastery toinclude its bell towers, the villa had falleninto disrepair when it was bought in 1974by Milanese billionaire explorer, CountGuido Monzino, who, terrified by thethought of kidnapping in ’70s Italy, hadbuilt a secret passage to lead from behind abookshelf in his office in the loggia,through the back of various cupboardslower down the house to the harbourbelow, for a quick getaway.

And this piqued the interest of my littleone, who until this Enid Blyton-esquemoment had been rather loath to tour thehouse. From then on, she was hooked andfought her way to the front of the tour,which took in some of the count’smementos of his travels, including the suithe’d worn to lead Italy’s first expedition toEverest and the dog sled he’d taken to theNorth Pole.

After the tour, we lunched in thegardens, enjoying our picnic of cheese,olives and thinly sliced courgette, grilledand soaked in olive oil, as we admired theextraordinary view of the lake and watchedtwo gardeners waving precariously fromthe top of a tree as they hand-pruned itinto a distinctive dome shape (It is said thatthe ficuses that wrap the pillars of theloggio are hand-trimmed with scissors).

We went back to Lenno by water taxi,scudding along with the wind in our hairand admiring the villa from its bestvantage point: the water.

The thing about holidaying on LakeComo is that it is incredibly restful. Asidefrom a few historic villas, there is not muchyou feel obliged to see — no dutiful dashingaround dark cathedrals and galleries forthose seeking la dolce vita.

A holiday here is all about strolling downto the lake for a swim, lounging in the sunwith a book resting on your chest while yougaze mindlessly at the view, and drinkingdark coffee in shore-side cafés while eatingdainty pastries.

On the one day we did feel active, we

strolled over the peninsula and down along, cobbled short-cut to the little port ofPescallo, where we hired a kayak from ahandsome and extremely reluctant Italian,who felt it was far too windy for us girls toventure out onto the water.

But I canoe in SA, so after someconsiderable persuasive talk from me, andonce he’d bundled my little one in a lifejacket, he let us loose onto the water.

And it was glorious. It’s true that, oncewe ’d passed through the sheltered harbourwith little yachts bobbing on theirmoorings, it was very blustery and thewaves were big — my daughter foundherself immediately swamped in the kayakand she sat in the equivalent of a play pool

for the duration of our paddle. But it wasfabulous to slip along the shore, looking atthe occasional house hidden in the treesand taking a swim in water so clear afriend had described it as unfair on the fish— any hungry duck could just take theirpick.

That evening, we did what we did everyevening: strolled down to the water’s edgeto sip an icy glass of Prosecco whilenibbling peanuts and idly watching theferries coming and going on the waterbeyond the geranium pots at the edge ofthe terrace.

For when on Lake Como, one must do asthe Romans once did: enjoy the sweet life.— © Lisa Templeton

Aside froma few villas,there is notmuch youfeel obligedto see —no dutifuldashingaround darkcathedrals

LAKE OF STARS

LOCATION, LOCATION: Left, Villa del Balbianello was in ‘Casino Royale’; and above, fun on the waterfront Pictures: GALLO/THINKSTOCK

SMOOTH OPERATOR: Yachting on the lake Picture: THINKSTOCK

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