Villa Ridente

POGNANA, Lake Como

At a glance

A villa with a beautiful view of the lake and private garden, situated on the west shore of Lake Como, offering privacy, peace and beautiful views.

Villa Ridente is a charming villa built in the Country Liberty style of the late 1800's - 1930's with equally charming decor and furnishings. The villa overlooks the lake below and is located in a tiny lakeside village (where you will find a post office, grocery store and cafe ) 14 km from Como.

The villa is set on three floors. It is a nice recently restored and romantic accommodation, with the interiors reflecting the atmosphere of an ancient holiday country house, and sends you back to a time when everything was more simple and life's rhythms more poetic. The furnishings are comfortable with some nice antiques. The sitting room and dining room walls are painted in soft apricot. The floor is antique: red, grey and white hexagonal tiles, typical of the area. On the upper floor, well-polished wooden floors gleam.

Ground floor: Sitting room (satellite TV & VCR) fully equipped kitchen with oven, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, dining room with fireplace; a mezzanine with a bathroom with bathtub.

First floor: Two double bedrooms (with lake view), upstairs at the second mid floor you have another bathroom with shower.

Second floor: two double bedrooms (lake view)

Downstairs: there is a typical grotto (as the house is built on rocks).

Outside: a large garden with open lake view and a terrace with pergola to dine al fresco. There is also a vegetable garden.

Please note: To reach the villa, you will need to park your car on the road above and walk down an approx. 200 m path with flights of steps. The lake is then a further 100 mt down the path (therefore not suitable for elderly guests). Vittorio, the caretaker helps with the luggage.

Distances

Bellagio 30 km, Como 15 km, Lugano 50 km.

The lake is about 100 meters down the same path that takes you to the villa. The nearest restaurant is a 10 minute walk away. The bus stop for Como is directly in front of the coffee shop. The journey to Como takes about half an hour. A visit to the smart town of Como is a pleasant contrast to the peace and tranquillity of the villa. In Como elegance surrounds you: beautiful architecture, elegant shops, stylish, wood-panelled cafés and restaurants and of course several beautiful museums await your visit.

Furthermore the town of Como is a worldwide leader in silk production. Even private customers have the unique opportunity to buy fabric, scarves or ties directly from the manufacturers in Como. Como has a railway station where you can take a quick train ride to Milan. Villa Ridente is ideally placed for numerous excursions in the beautiful pre-alpine countryside or to Bellagio - also known as the pearl of the lake, because of its beauty.

Lake Como is renowned for its luxuriant vegetation and its mild climate. In winter, in the sunniest areas such as Tremezzina, the temperature is never too cold. In summer, it is mitigated by a very nice breeze.

What to see

In Como, the Cathedral and Piazza S.Fedele with many 400-year-old buildings and the Basilica, one of the masterpieces of the maestri comacini (masters of Como). The very austere church of San Abbondio. or the early Romanesque Basilica of San Corpoforo.

Before leaving Como, be sure to take the cab up to Brunate for a truly spectacular view

From Como, going north along the left shore it's just a short drive to Cernobbio, whose old town features a delightful collection of picturesque houses and narrow alleys. This is the site of the fictional Villa Balbianello, the elegant family-home-cum-pensione featured in the film "A Month by the Lake." Nearby is one of the grandest hotels in all Europe, the Villa D'Este, whose rooms are almost like museum galleries and whose grounds boast Italy's only "floating swimming pool" Up the road is Toriggia, where you can visit Villa Passalacqua, a late 18th-century home where Vincenzo Bellini once stayed.

As you travel north you'll see Como's only island, Isola Comacina (St. John's Day, the week end after June 24th is celebrated with a mass in the ruins of the S. Eufemia basilica, followed by a costumed procession and night-time fireworks).

 One kilometer from the villa is a sporting club with pool and boats can be rented here.