Live like a film star on the shores of Lake Como

Discover Lake Como and you’ll see why Michelle Jackson, The Novel Traveller, felt like a celebrity when exploring one of the most popular destinations in Italy with Travel Department. Before we start… Now that Covid vaccinations are progressing well the world is slowly starting to open again for some well-deserved travel experiences. Italia! have partnered […]

Lake Como travel guide

gravedona palazzo

Find some of the best places to stay or eat while staying around Lake Como, with Rosalind Ormiston’s guide to the highlights of the area… Photos by Provincia di Como Servizio Turismo unless otherwise stated Lake Como was colonised by the Romans in the 2nd century BC and has been a haven for relaxation and vacationing […]

Ten reasons to love Lake Como

mount grona

Ros Ormiston reveals ten of the best reasons to visit captivating Lake Como in Lombardy – there’s something to appeal to absolutely everyone… Lake Como photos by Provincia di Como Servizio Turismo unless otherwise stated   1 The Villa Melzi botanical gardens at Bellagio Bellagio is picture perfect with vibrant cafés and restaurants and busy shops, […]

Five reasons to visit Italy’s lakes

Lake Como, Italy

Whether you favour the grandeur of the tourist favourites, or the peace of off-the beaten-track locations, there is a perfect lakeside destination for you Photos by iStock and Jane Keightley 1 Maggiore Lake Maggiore is one of Italy’s beloved northern lakes. The Borromeo family has dominated three islands on the lake since the 16th and […]

Making Tracks, Part 3: to Lake Como

Train

Two decades ago Rachael Martin arrived in Italy, exploring the country by rail and dreaming of rooms with a view. Twenty years, one Italian husband and two kids later, she still has the memories of those first voyages of discovery… Photos by Rachael Martin I start off in Lecco, at the southern tip of Lake […]

Homes in Lombardy

Dreamy lakesides, elegant little cities, super-stylish dressers and a sky-high quality of life – it’s no wonder this mighty northern region has long been so popular. It still makes a great choice for property, says Fleur Kinson Photos by iStock   Sitting at the heart of northern Italy, with its romantic head in the Alps […]

Homes in: The Lakes

Varenna, Lake Como, Italy

Italy is blessed with an abundance of stunning lakes – from romantic giants with Alpine backdrops to crystalline volcanic beauties fringed by leafy hills to secret wild ponds in the middle of nowhere. Fleur Kinson helps you choose the right one for your taste and budget. When Italy isn’t busy wowing us with its stupendous […]

Sculpture: Piazza Camerlata

Italia! investigates a very different view of this renowned Italian lakeside town, with a visit to a dizzying sculpture in Piazza Camerlata, in Como What do you envisage when you think of the Italian Lakes? It probably isn’t a design movement called Italian Rationalism, but the town of Como, on the lake of the same […]

The Best Lakes in Italy

Whether you want glorious scenery, peaceful walks or adrenalin-packed watersports, Italy’s inland waters boast it all. Here’s Italia!’s pick of the country’s beautiful lakes 1. Lake Garda The largest of Italy’s lakes and ‘the land where the lemon trees grow’, Lake Garda’s elephantine shape drapes itself across Lombardy, the Veneto and Trentino. The lake’s Mediterranean […]