Discovering the villas of Blevio, Lake Como.

Our tour starts here (45.84563132051571, 9.106460641109054), at 104 E. Caronti Street, there is a small free parking lot. 
Walk south, keeping the lake on your right and paying close attention: the street has no sidewalk. At number 86, the lovely Villa Costanza, a mansion that also offers B&B, appears on your left.
When you arrive near house number 70, near a very narrow house with the historical sign Lucini, go down the small street on your right: a beautiful view of the small village by the lake will soon open up: we are in the hamlet of Girola.
At the end of the steps you will see the remains of the crenellated walls of what was once the ancient castle of Blevio.
You will notice, along the descent, the first mosaics of a large project promoted by Blevio called Parco dei Mosaici, 52 mural works placed on several pedestrian paths. To learn more click here.

In this tiny hamlet the scene is dominated by the bell tower of the Church S.S. Gordiano and Epimaco, a building from the second half of the 1700s.
The church was built in the second half of the 1700s. It has a wonderful two-order facade crowned by a beautiful tympanum. Some important canvases are carefully kept inside: the visit of Mary to Elizabeth, attributed to Nuvolone (1581-1651), a deposition from the cross by Morazzone (1573-1626), a birth of Jesus by Moncalvo (1568-1625).
Inside you can also admire an organ from 1821, built by the Prestinari brothers of Magenta. 

As you leave the church, walking down the small flight of steps at the back of the parish, you will come to the lakeside, right on the south side of Villa Maria. The villa was built on the plan of an earlier dwelling known as Ca' dell'Imperatore for having given refuge to Joseph II Emperor of Austria in 1769 during a very violent storm.
Today's name Villa Maria pays homage to the memory of Maria Taglioni, a famous romantic ballerina hailed throughout Europe, who lived here. Thanks to donations from her many suitors, Maria became the owner of several Venetian palaces, including the famous Ca' d'Oro, but her fortune was ruined by her father through speculation and malfeasance. She lived in humility until the age of 80, earning a living by offering lessons in dance and deportment.
On the planet Venus there is a crater dedicated to her.

History tells us of a second Maria who dwelt here.
"A beautiful woman hardly seems to touch the ground: she bends her head de flowers and scatters their perfume without stepping on even one," thus was described Maria Letizia Studolmina Wyse Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon I's brother.
A cultured and charming woman, she was the wife of Urbano Rattazzi, president of the Council of Ministers during the early years of Italian unification.

Returning to the main entrance of the church, on your left you can notice a portico with a dedication to Carlo Sacco. Born in 1844 to a humble family, Carlo built a small empire with his Ditta Lombardini e Sacco, one of the most important cotton yarn manufacturers. Aided by the sensitivity and intelligence of his wife Carolina Cerutti, he decided to leave all his assets to Ospedale Maggiore so that it could build a pavilion for indigent patients. But not only that! He also left substantial assets to the Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan and to the Sant'Anna Hospital in Como. 

We are now in the small square by the lake, called Piazza Senza Pensieri. We recommend you go to the dock to see the beautiful Villa Ricordi, which belonged to the famous music publisher Ricordi and is now known as Villa Da Riva. Interestingly, the villa was built on the remains of the home of Pantero Pantera, a gentleman captain and highly esteemed sailor from Como who became commander of the papal fleet around 1597.

On your left, about 100 meters away, see the promontory plunge into the lake with the white Villa Borletti Belgiojoso, now known as Villa Chiara.
Built by Russian Count Grigoriy Petrovich Shuvalov for a young woman with whom he was madly in love, it later became the property of the Borletti family, a very important industrialist family. Together with the Monzino family - Villa Balbianello - the Borletti family were pioneers in large-scale retailing, conceiving the first supermarkets and shopping malls, which became very famous as Standa and Rinascente.
Today, the family runs the Grandi Stazioni enterprise with the goal of redeveloping and transforming large railway hubs into full-fledged shopping malls.

The villa preserves the poignant memory of two true passionate women who inhabited it: the dramatic actress Adelaide Ristori and the noblewoman Cristina Trivulzi Belgiojoso.
Adelaide, of extraordinary talent, was beloved by the public for her patriotic Risorgimento fervor, while Cristina, a writer and journalist, covered an active role in the Italian Risorgimento through her revolutionary publications.
Cristina Belgiojoso, betrayed by her husband - Read the story here - did not want to return to the Villa Pliniana, where Emilio Belgiojoso lived years of lust with the Duchess of Plaisance, choosing Count Shuvalov's villa as her new home.

We continue the route on Via IV Novembre and enter the village. Do not go up the steps, but stay to the right to enter the arcade that leads to the small square of the pier and Momi restaurant. You can enter the restaurant's outdoor seating area and enjoy the beautiful lakefront promenade with numerous benches, shaded areas, and mosaics.

After the Momi restaurant, walk up the first flight of steps on the left to reach the entrance to the Mosaic Park, where most of the works from the above project are on display.
Leaving the park, walking toward the cemetery, Comolakeartist motorboat rentals are available on the right. A two-hour rental costs about €120, but it is a recommended small investment to see all the wonderful mansions, gardens and docks overlooking the lake.
If you are looking for a more economical and sporty option you can rent a Kayak by continuing a little further on the cobblestone road, where you will find A.S.D. Kayak Basso Lario. 

When you reach the end of this road you are obliged to go up to the left or down to the right in the direction of the lake. We advise you to go down to the shore and up to the pier to see the beautiful Villa Cademartori.

This mansion was built at the behest of the Artaria family, founders of the most important music publishing house of the 18th century. Natives of Blevio, the Artarias moved to Vienna in 1760, where they opened a print store under the name Cousins Artaria. In 1780 they launched into music publishing, quickly becoming publishers of Joseph Haydn.
Their successes also enabled the Artarias to acquire the musical rights of artists such as Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Schubert and many others.

The villa was later bought by German banker Giorgio Mylius, who transformed it in lines by choosing a severe and elegant style. After Giorgio's death the villa passed to the industrialist Corrado Cramer, whose son sailed here with the splendid Cisko Yu, a splendid 1898 Thames A Rater sailing ship kept today at the Barca Lariana Museum - Lake Como International Museum of vintage Boat in Pianello del Lario. 

From the Cramer family, the villa passed to the Cademartori family, an important dairy family with a passion for motorboating. Remo Cademartori was the last owner of the prestigious Taroni Boatyard in Carate Lario.

Well, let's return to the small road that goes up along the walls of the villa. Up ahead, a striking villa in large windows and white steel will catch your attention. It looks like an immense Art Nouveau greenhouse. The recently constructed building consists of two residential units and is currently for sale.

Go up the street and take the first left to get to the park run by Wake Board Lake Como, an association that offers many services; Wake-surfing, Wakeboarding, Water Skiing, Foil Surfing, SUP. Yoga, Tubing, but also simple stop in the park and refreshment.

From here you can glimpse the enchanting as well as fairy-tale silhouette of Villa Troubetzkoy, built by Russian Prince Alexander Troubetzkoy. The prince took refuge here after serving a six-year sentence of hard labor imposed on him by the Tsar for attempted insurrection. Here he met and married the dancer Maria Taglioni.