In this part of our series of articles about car hire holidays in the Lake Como area of Italy, we will be looking at the route from Menaggio to Tremezzo.
Leaving Menaggio in your hire car, head south on the SS340dir and continue onto the SS340. It will take you about ten minutes to drive to Tremezzo.
It’s worth parking your rental car and taking some time to explore Tremezzo. Its best known attraction is Villa Carlotta, a stunning villa. Villa Carlotta was constructed during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by the Clerici family from Milan. Giorgio II Clerici began work on the villa in 1690, using some of the money that his family had made in the textile industry. The work was completed by his great grandson, Antonio Giorgio, in the mid-1730s.
The villa remained in the Clerici family until 1801, when it was sold to Gian Battista Sommarvia, a wealth lawyer and politician who collected works of art, many of which can still be seen at Villa Carlotta today. He left the villa to his son, who died in 1838. Luigi’s wife sold the villa in 1843 to Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, who then gave it to her daughter, Carlotta, as a wedding present. Carlotta and her husband improved the gardens, for which the villa is now famed. Villa Carlotta remained in the family until the early twentieth century.
Villa Carlotta was used by the State during World War I, after which it was given to the Ente Villa Carlotta, the foundation which still maintains the site. Both the villa and gardens are open to the public, and there is plenty to see. You can see more than 470 Roman plaster cameos in the Cameo Room, admire the stunning art deco ceiling in the Views’ Room and tour the luxurious bedrooms on the second floor.
The gardens of Villa Carlotta are known for their beautiful displays of azaleas and rhododendrons, and you can explore the five terraces, the rock garden and the tranquil bamboo garden. You can also see the Fountain of the Dwarves in the Old Garden area, take a stroll through the Fern Valley, explore the romantic ruins, visit the Sommariva Chapel or learn about the history of gardening and farming at the Museum of Agricultural Tools.
Villa Carlotta also has a gift shop, a cafe and several picnic areas, so its the perfect place to spend a day during your Lake Como hire car holiday.
Other places of interest in Tremezzo include the opulent Grand Hotel, the Church of S. Lorenzo and the Church of Santa Maria, where you can see the Statue of the Black Madonna, which was brought to Tremezzo by a Catholic family from Switzerland.
Finally, if you are visiting Tremezzo in May, you may find that you are there during one of its most important annual events – the Asparagus Festival! As well as being able to taste dishes that include asparagus, you can also listen to live music or visit the market.
In the next part of our series of posts about Lake Como car rental holidays, we’ll take a look at the route from Tremezzo to Cernobbio.
Tags: car hire holidays, car rental, Italy, Italy holidays, Lake Como, Tremezzo, Villa Carlotta
[...] of Menaggio one day during our stay in Lake Como. Menaggio was slightly larger in size than VarennaA Tour of Italy's Lake Como Region – Menaggio to Tremezzo …In this part of our series of articles about car hire holidays in the Lake Como area of Italy, we [...]
[...] Part 11 – Menaggio to Tremezzo [...]