Cernobbio

Here are what three extraordinary travellers – all artists – have had to say about Cernobbio:

“Everything is noble and moving here, and everything speaks of love” – Stendhal
“When writing about two happy lovers, be sure the story takes place on the shores of Lake Como” – Franz Liszt
“The beauty of this place is beyond anything I have ever seen” – Shelley

A small town of 7,000 residents on the western shore of the LakeCernobbio is located just a few kilometres north of the city of Como. It is a magical place or, better yet, a predestined place: magnificent villas built with the refined knowledge of the Latin aristocracy were to be found here already in the Roman era. A place whose incredible natural beauty has been further amplified by man’s enterprise, a prime example being the Villa d’Este whose reputation had spread throughout the Mediterranean region even before Versailles was built. Now as then, together with Villa ErbaVilla d’Este is an emblem that has made Cernobbio so internationally renowned. In fact, it is easier to name the powerful, the wealthy, the famous names of show business, science and politics who have not passed through the rooms, the suites and the fabulous apartments of Villa d’Este, than those who have visited them over the years. Prime ministers, entrepreneurs, Hollywood stars, sports champions, rock music artists, aristocrats from many nations and lineages, and merely ordinary wealthy people with sophisticated tastes, all keep choosing year-after-year, season-after-season, this little town on Lake Como as their preferred destination from among thousands of other locations. Contributing to Cernobbio’s international calibre, there are also a number of annual events dedicated to personalities of the financial world, political institutions and business, such as the meetings of the Bildelberg Group and the Ambrosetti Forum.
But Cernobbio is equally a favorite place for cinema lovers, as well. At Villa Erba, built at the end of the 1800’s by Luchino Visconti’s family, the various rooms where the famous director spent many cheerful summers in his childhood can still be visited. Echoes and splendours reminiscent of Villa Erba are to be found in many of Visconti’s masterpieces: from the ballroom of Il Gattopardo to the dock in “Caduta degli Dei”. Furnishings and decorative elements typical of the villa are also to be seen in “Morte a Venezia”.

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