Lenno, Lake Como: the Gulf of Venus seen from the water
The Tremezzina village where you set off for Villa del Balbianello, with a Romanesque crypt, an 11th-century baptistery and a sheltered promenade at the head of its bay.
Lenno, Lake Como. Most people only know it second-hand, as the place you go for Villa del Balbianello. I often bring our Venetian water taxi into this bay, and I can tell you it deserves more than a quick stop at the landing stage. It's a deep, calm inlet with a tree-lined promenade, a church that sits below street level and, hidden underneath it, a crypt that's almost a thousand years old.
How to get to Lenno by boat
Coming from the south you pass under the Dosso di Lavedo, the wooded headland with Villa del Balbianello at its tip. Round it and the lake opens into a wide, quiet bay. Locals call it the Gulf of Venus, and I get why: even when the wind picks up, the water here is often calmer than out in the middle.
At the far end sits the village, with its leafy promenade, café tables and the bell tower of Santo Stefano. Lenno has its own Navigazione Laghi ferry stop, and water taxis for Balbianello leave from beside the Lido di Lenno. Look across and you'll see the Bellagio headland on the opposite shore.
A short history of Lenno
Tradition says the name comes from Lemnos, the Greek island that supposedly sent settlers here in Roman times. Treat that as legend. More solid is the idea that Pliny the Younger's villa "Comedy" stood near the Dosso di Lavedo: in 1847 two column sections with Corinthian capitals were recovered from the lake, and they now stand in the courtyard of the Paolo Giovio Archaeological Museum in Como.
In the Middle Ages Lenno was caught up in the struggles over Isola Comacina and the Ten Years' War between Como and Milan (1118 to 1127). It became a holiday resort in the 19th century, and since 2014 it has been part of the municipality of Tremezzina, together with Tremezzo, Mezzegra and Ossuccio.
Things to do in Lenno
- 01Santo Stefano and its crypt
The church sits well below the old Via Regina, which tells you how old it is. It was built over early Christian remains and owes its current look to 16th and 17th-century work. Two stairways on either side of the nave lead down to the 11th-century crypt beneath the presbytery area: small, split into five bays by slender columns, with three apses. In the first chapel on the right are two frescoes from the school of Luini.
- 02The Baptistery of San Giovanni
Octagonal and Romanesque, from the last quarter of the 11th century, with a band of small blind arches under its stone roof. A rare Romanesque survivor, still in good shape, in Piazza XI Febbraio, a short walk from the ferry pier.
- 03The promenade and the bay
A flat stroll with views from the tip of Balbianello all the way to Bellagio. The right spot for a coffee outside before or after the villa.
- 04Villa del Balbianello
Reach it from the lake by water taxi or on foot, about a kilometre uphill, partly on gravel. There's no car access. Booking on the FAI website is required.
- 05Sacro Monte di Ossuccio
From Lenno it's roughly a 45-minute climb along a cobbled path lined with 17th and early 18th-century chapels. It belongs to the UNESCO-listed Sacri Monti of the Alpine foothills, and the view over the lake pays you back for the effort.
With more time, there's the Romanesque church of Sant'Andrea, the Abbey of Acquafredda, the Torre di Villa and Casa Brenna Tosatto. The Lake Como Greenway, the footpath linking the Tremezzina villages, also runs through Lenno.
When to visit Lenno
Spring and early autumn are my favourite months: April, May and June, then September and October. The climate is mild enough that olive trees grow on the hills around here, and the area was known as the "olive oil basin". In July and August the bay fills with boats and the Balbianello pier has its queue.
The village is worth it year-round, but the villa's opening season changes every year, so always check the official FAI website before you go. Same goes for ferry timetables.
Places to see near Lenno
A few minutes north by boat are Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta. Just south, past the Lavedo headland, you'll find Isola Comacina and Villa Balbiano. Straight across the water is Bellagio.
Our Classic Lake Tour boat trip passes right by Lenno: two hours in central Lake Como, with Balbianello seen from the water, the way it's meant to be seen.
