Italy, Day 2, July 9, 2011

ITALY, Day 2, July 9, 2011:

Overnight, both of us took a sleeping draught to be able to sleep thoroughly and well. I myself dropped off in what seemed like three minutes, although it might have taken longer than that—I was too oblivious to know the truth of the matter. This morning we woke to fog, which soon, however, departed, leaving the beginning of a splendid day which turned out to be quite warm. We had breakfast downstairs—a treat was a boiled egg in an egg cup, which may not sound like much but which I always have only in Europe, even though it would be an easy matter to have it in the United States as well. Afterwards, we caught the bus and proceeded to the town of Tremezzo, to the north of Mezzegra, where we are staying. We stopped at the Villa Carlotta. It is located on the lakefront road and is pink, white, and exceptionally photogenic. The house, built in 1690, was built in a natural basin between lake and mountains. The architect created an important but sober building with an Italian garden decorated with sculptures, stairs and fountains for the Clericis family, a noble and powerful clan from Milan. In 1801, a man named Sommariva, a famous politician and businessman as well as patron of the arts, bought the villa. Thanks to him, the villa attained the summit of its splendor and became of the most important stopping places on the Grand Tour, with its collection of art (masterpieces of Canova and Thorvalidsen, for example) and its fascinating romantic garden. In the second half of the century Princess Marianne of Nassau bought the villa and gave it as a present to her daughter, Carlotta, on the occasion of her wedding with Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen. He was passionate about botany and made a lot of improvements and new additions to the park, which became more and more famous for its horticultural richness and the rhododendrons and azaleas and their flowerings. Fascinating grounds, both inside and outside the villa. It was only with difficulty that Nancy and I could tear ourselves away, as we had to be back at the boat landing at 11:00 in order to leave by boat for Como, our next destination.

In 2003, when I had brought a group of 10 to Lake Como for a hiking jaunt, Como was our introduction to the Lake Como area. We had walked most of the town, but had neglected the promenade around the opposite, western side of the town. The waterfront park extends from that western side, and several villas had been restored and were wearing their best new façade. They were not open, however, and our destination was towards a villa which was sure to be open—the Villa Olmo, a Neoclassical pile which hosts conference and exhibitions, and its gardens are its greatest draw. It was about 1 km away from us, so we proceeded to that destination and then decided to get lunch first, as we both were famished. A café was set up in the east wing of the villa, and there we parked ourselves for a very strange lunch which we shared—rolls, steak tartare (yes, that’s uncooked steak and my first experience with that substance—not particularly bad, but definitely an acquired taste); a very sharp mustard, and a dollop of diced tomatoes, as well as oil and vinegar. All this was supposed to be put together by us to form a kind of bruschetta. If I had not been so hungry, I would have found a nearby dog and fed him / her the steak tartare, but as it was, I soldiered on manfully and ate my portion without complaining. Then we had a few minutes before having to return to the waterfront. At the Villa Olmo, an exhibit of the paintings of 19^th c. Italian society painter Giovanni Boldini was showing, and I happen to be a great fan of his work. John Singer Sargent was a contemporary of his as well. His portraits of the beautiful and important society women of his day were absolutely luminous, and his technique was extremely interesting, in that he would have pools of very distinct features, followed by a periphery of hazy, impressionistic “suggestion” of his female subjects. Amazing!

We returned to Mezzegra by boat and had about an hour before we took the bus and then the boat from the launch at the Villa Carlotta, straight across to the town of Bellagio. Before proceeding to Bellagio, we did a short tour of some of the very famous villas around the lake, including George Clooney’s and Richard Brannon’s estates.

Bellagio has been called the most beautiful town in all of Italy. The promenade is planted with oleanders and limes, and the fin-de-siecle hotels are painted butterscotch, peach, and cream. It sports a hilly old quarter of steep cobbled streets and alleyways. When we landed, everyone went their own separate ways for an hour. Nancy and I clambered up to the top of the town to the 11^th c. church of San Giacomo, alongside a tower which is all that is left of Bellagio’s medieval defenses. We also looked in a bunch of shops and especially delighted in the leather products, but restrained ourselves and bought nothing. When we came back to the waterfront, we looked into the first hotel in Bellagio, the Genazzini, opened in 1825, and enjoyed the views from there westwards to the mountains above Cadenabbia, across the lake. We also had a limoncello each as we sat in an outdoor café nearby. Limoncello is a potent little drink but a very good one, and is served in small cylindrical glasses. Olives and potato chips were served with it, but when I got up to walk to the Hotel Suisse, where we were to have dinner with the rest of our group, I really had to watch my step, as I was feeling a bit giddy from that powerful drink.

We had dinner on the open terrace of the Hotel Suisse in Bellagio, starting with “little ear” pasta with a lovely sauce; trout and vegetables, and a wonderful chocolate concoction at the end of dinner that tasted a bit like a chocolate tres leches. Along with a wonderful meal, two wines of the area and espresso at the end of dinner (my first, and an acquired taste). As it was beginning to mellow into dusk, we were back off for a final run to the Villa Carlotta landing, then a short hop home. Last night in Como! We packed and were ready for the next day.