Villa Carlotta Lake Como: gardens, museum and arriving by boat
Villa Carlotta seen from the lake, the way we show it to guests from our Venetian water taxi: the gate on the water, the spring azaleas, the rooms with Canova and Hayez.
Villa Carlotta on Lake Como is one of those villas you should see from the water first and from the inside second. It sits in Tremezzo, part of the town of Tremezzina, on the western shore, looking straight across at the tip of Bellagio. When we take guests around the central lake we often see it from the water, and that's where I'd tell you to start.
Villa Carlotta from the lake
Coming in from the central lake, you spot it from a long way off. The pale façade up top, terraces edged with stone balustrades, staircases running down to the gate on the shore. The Italian garden is laid out along a single axis, from that gate up to the clock on the roof, and from a boat you can read it perfectly.
That's no accident. When the villa was built, and right up to the middle of the twentieth century, the main entrance was the one on the lake: people arrived by boat. So when we pass the gate, it's worth slowing down and letting the villa show itself from the side it was designed to be seen from.
Villa Carlotta Lake Como: how to get there by boat
The Navigazione Lago di Como public boats stop at "Tremezzo - Villa Carlotta", about 400 metres from the entrance. From Como it's roughly 45 minutes on the water; from Bellagio and Varenna you cross to Cadenabbia or Menaggio and walk from there.
With a private water taxi you set the pace. You can pair the villa with the Classic Lake Tour, which covers exactly these waters: the Balbianello, Isola Comacina and the view of Bellagio. Where to get off and when to head back is something we sort out together when you book.
A short history of Villa Carlotta
The villa was built in the late seventeenth century for the Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici. In 1801 it passed to Giovanni Battista Sommariva, a politician of the Napoleonic Cisalpine Republic and a serious art collector, who brought works by Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen here.
In 1843 Princess Marianne of Prussia bought it as a wedding gift for her daughter Charlotte, who was marrying Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen. That's where the name comes from. Charlotte died young, in 1855, but the duke stayed attached to the place and, being a keen botanist, filled the park with rare species. The Italian state confiscated the villa during the First World War, and since 1927 it has been run by the Ente Villa Carlotta.
What to see at Villa Carlotta
- 01The Italian garden
The oldest part, as old as the villa: clipped hedges, fountains, statues, terraces linked by flights of steps.
- 02The citrus tunnels
Two citrus pergolas on a terrace in front of the villa. Under the Clerici family citrus trees covered many more terraces, and the collection was nicknamed the "Selva cedrina", the citron grove.
- 03Camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas
Camellias open the season, rhododendrons peak between mid-March and mid-April, then come the azaleas: the collection that made Villa Carlotta famous worldwide.
- 04The Valley of Ferns
Created by Duke Georg II in a natural hollow, with a stream running along the bottom.
- 05The museum
Canova's Palamedes, in its room since 1818; Thorvaldsen's frieze of Alexander the Great entering Babylon; Francesco Hayez's The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet from 1823. On the second floor, Princess Charlotte's furniture and private rooms.
Worth knowing: the garden ticket includes the museum. Wear comfortable shoes, as several paths in the park go uphill.
Best time to visit Villa Carlotta
The villa opens in spring, around the end of March, and closes for winter in early November, with a few special weekend openings later in the year. Dates and hours change every season, so always check the official Villa Carlotta website before you go.
If you can choose, come between late March and May, when the camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas are out. Summer belongs to hydrangeas and roses, and the scent under the citrus pergolas is strong.
Near Villa Carlotta
The centre of Tremezzo is a short walk away; further south, on the Dosso di Lavedo, is Villa del Balbianello, and just beyond it Isola Comacina. Across the water lies Bellagio with Villa Melzi. Head north and you reach Menaggio.
