Villa Melzi Gardens, Bellagio: Lake Como seen from the water
The white villa on the Bellagio shore is private, but its English-style garden is open to visitors. Here is how it looks from my Venetian water taxi, almost every day of the season.
Villa Melzi in Bellagio is the white villa you see on the shore as we turn the bow from the middle of Lake Como towards the promontory. The house itself is private, but the Villa Melzi Gardens are open for most of the year, and they are one of the quietest ways to spend a couple of hours on dry land.
Villa Melzi from the lake
You spot it straight away from the water. A pale neoclassical front with no fuss, a lawn sloping down to the shore and plane trees pruned into umbrellas along the lakeside path. Coming over by boat from Tremezzo, it sits right in front of you, on the Bellagio side facing the Tremezzina.
What I notice every single time is how the sound changes. Out in the open lake there is the engine, the wind, the wake of the ferries. Under the Villa Melzi shore, engine low, all that is left is water tapping on the wooden hull.
How to get to Villa Melzi by boat
The garden has two entrances: one on the Bellagio side and one on the Loppia side, the little hamlet with its tiny harbour at the southern end. By water taxi I normally drop guests in Bellagio: a short walk along the lakefront and you are there, and when you are ready to leave you just call me, no ferry timetable to chase.
Villa Melzi history in a nutshell
The villa was built between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi and vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The architect was Giocondo Albertolli. The English landscape garden was laid out by Luigi Canonica and the botanist Luigi Villoresi, who had already worked on the gardens of the Royal Villa of Monza.
Today the estate belongs to the Gallarati Scotti family, heirs of the Melzi. The villa stays closed to the public. What you can visit is the garden, the museum and the chapel.
What to see in the Villa Melzi Gardens
- 01The Japanese pond
A water lily pond framed by Japanese maples, added in the second half of the 19th century. It is the most secluded corner of the garden, the spot where people slow down without noticing.
- 02Dante and Beatrice and the Moorish pavilion
Right on the water stands a small Moorish-style pavilion. In front of it is Giovanni Battista Comolli's sculpture of Dante and Beatrice. Sit there for a few minutes and watch the boats go by.
- 03The camellias
Around 250 plants put in over the last 180 years, mostly near the two entrances, including several historic Italian varieties from the 1800s. They flower between February and April.
- 04The museum in the old orangery
Two sections on two floors, both entered from the garden. Upstairs, the story of Francesco Melzi d'Eril and the villa in Napoleonic times. Downstairs, an Antiquarium with Roman, Greek and Etruscan pieces, Chinese and Japanese ceramics and a statue of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet.
- 05The chapel
At the southern end, above the little square and harbour of Loppia, stands the neoclassical chapel completed in 1818 to a design by Albertolli, with a Doric portico and a dome. Inside are the Melzi d'Eril funerary monuments, with work by Vincenzo Vela among others.
When to visit Villa Melzi
The garden opens in spring and closes at the end of October. Dates, opening hours and tickets change from year to year, so check the official Villa Melzi Gardens website before you set off.
If I had to pick, I would say April and May, when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom and the lawns around the villa fill with colour. Early in the season you still catch the camellias, with fewer people around. In autumn the light turns softer.
Places near Villa Melzi
Step out of the garden and you are already in Bellagio, with its stepped lanes and the tip of the promontory. Above the village is the park of Villa Serbelloni. Across the water you have Villa Carlotta and Tremezzo, and a short hop east takes you to Varenna.
To see Bellagio, Varenna and the villas of both branches in one day, Villa Melzi included, the right trip is our Grand Tour, with walks in the villages along the way. If you would rather focus on the Tremezzina and the view of Bellagio from the water, have a look at the Classic Lake Tour.
