Smart Traveller

British Airways has announced that it is working with the Solena Group to try to set up the first sustainable jet fuel plant in Europe. The plant, which is likely to be sited in East London,  will be used to convert waste that would otherwise have ended up in landfill sites into low-carbon aviation fuel.

British Airways estimates that up to 16 million gallons of low-carbon fuel per year could be produced at the site and is planning to be using the fuel in some of its aircraft by 2014.

In a press release issued by British Airways on 15 February 2010, the airline’s Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, stated:

“This unique partnership with Solena will pave the way for realising our ambitious goal of reducing net carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.  We believe it will lead to the production of a real sustainable alternative to jet kerosene.  We are absolutely determined to reduce our impact on climate change and are proud to lead the way on aviation’s environmental initiatives.”

In the final part of our series of posts about car hire holidays in Italy’s Lake Como region, we find out what there is to see and do in Cernobbio, and take a look at the route from Cernobbio back to Milan.

Cernobbio sits at the foot of Monte Bisbino and its most famous attraction is the Villa D’Este. The Villa D’Este was originally a convent, but the cloister and some of its land was bought by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio of Como during the 16th century, and he commissioned the architect Pelligrino Pelligrini to build a villa there. The villa was completed in 1568 and was named Villa Garrovo. It was handed down through the Gallio family following Tolomeo’s death and some of its owners improved the villa and its gardens.

In 1784, the Gallio family sold the villa to Marquis Bartolomeo Caldera, who was married to Vittoria Peluso, a ballerina. When the Marquis died, Vittoria married Count Domenico Pino, a General in Napoleon’s army and comissioned the construction of fortresses and towers in the gardens of the villa in order to remind him of his military days.

In 1815, Vittoria begrudgingly sold the villa to Queen Caroline of England, the wife of King George IV. King George and Queen Caroline never lived together and their marriage disastrous, so when she was offered an annual allowance from the King in order to leave England, Caroline headed for Italy. She saw the Villa Garrovo and set her heart on buying it.

It was Caroline who changed the name of the villa, from the Villa Garrovo to the New Villa D’Este. She made a number of improvements to the villa during the five years that she lived there. Unfortunately, she got into debt and gave the villa to her bankers until she could afford to buy it back, but was not able to do this and died in 1821.

The villa was opened to the public in 1825, but it was sold to Prince Domenico Orsini and then to Baron Ippolito Ciani, who restored the estate and constructed a new villa, which is now called “The Queen’s Pavillion”.

In 1873, the Villa D’Este was turned into a hotel and it has attracted many celebrities over the years, including Mark Twain, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Woody Allen and Mel Gibson. The hotel has retained many of its original features, including the beautiful painted ceiling in the Napoleon Room, and you can see some wonderful works of art in the hotel, or see the statues, fountains and fortifications in the Villa D’Este’s gardens.

Cernobbio’s other famous villa is the Villa Erba, which was constructed in the 19th century for the Erba family. Now a conference centre, the Mannerist-style Villa Erba also houses a museum (”The Rooms of Luchino Visconti”), which contains exhibits relating to Luchino Visconti, the Italian film director, who was the son of Duke Guiseppe and Lady Carla Visconti.

Lady Carla was the daughter of Commandatore Luigi Erba and Anna Brivio, who purchased the property in 1882 and built the lakeside villa so that they could live in more elegant surroundings than the manor house that already existed on the land. Unfortunately, “The Rooms of Luchino Visconti” are only open to the public during May and you will need to book a tour in advance.

Other attractions in Cernobbio include the 16th century Villa Pizzo and the 18th century Church of S. Michele di Rovenna, and you can also take a walk along the waterfront.

Once you’ve explored Cernobbio, you can head back to Como in your hire car. It will take you about 15 minutes to get there. Just head south on the Via per Cernobbio.

You can then either spend a day or two in Como or drive back to Milan. To get back to Milan from Como in your hire car, simply head south on the A9 partial toll road and then take the exit for the A8/E62 to Milan. You can then either spend some more time exploring Milan or return your car to the car rental office and fly home.

In the penultimate part of our series of articles about car rental holidays in Italy’s Lake Como area, we will be taking a look at the route from Tremezzo to Cernobbio.

Once you’ve explored Tremezzo, head south on the SS340 in your hire car. This route will take you through a number of towns and villages, including Lenno, Ossuccio, Colonno, Argegno, Brienno, Torrigio, Laglio, Carate Urio and Moltrasio.

It’s worth stopping off and visiting the beautiful Villa del Balbianello, which sits on a promontory on the lake, just outside of Lenno. If you park your rental car in Lenno, you can either walk to Villa del Balbianello, which is about 1km away, or take a boat there.

Villa del Balbianello was constructed during the 18th century for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini and later became the home of the explorer and mountaineer, Count Guido Monzino. Monzino was born in 1928 and made more than 20 expeditions to places such as Greenland, Pakistan and Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro before he died in 1988. He also led Italy’s first expedition to climb Mount Everest.

You can see some of the maps that Monzini used on his expeditions in Villa del Balbianello’s Map Room, and the library there contains more than 4,000 books which he used for research. You can also learn more about Monzini and his travels in the Museum of Expeditions, which is on the villa’s upper floor. Here you can see documents, photos and even one of the dog sleds that Monzini used during his North Pole expedition. The interior of the villa is only accessible if you go on a guided tour -see the Villa del Balbianello website for further details.

You can also explore the Villa del Balbianello’s terraced garden, which includes a “loggia”, and enjoy the beautiful views across Lake Como. Villa del Balbianello has been used as a location in a number of movies, including Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Casino Royale (2006).

On route to Cernobbio from Tremezzo, you’ll also pass through Laglio, which is now world famous for being the location of George Clooney’s Villa Oleandra.

It will take you about half an hour to drive to Cernobbio from Tremezzo in your hire car if you don’t stop en route, but part of the joy of touring Lake Como is being able to do so at a leisurely pace and enjoy all that it has to offer.

In the final part of our series about car hire holidays in the Lake Como area, we will explore Cernobbio’s attractions and take a look at the route back to Milan via Como.