Passalacqua, Lake Como, Italy

Standing proudly in the quaint lakeside village of Moltrasio just fifteen minutes from Como town, Passalacqua, a private home since 1787, has been transformed into a hidden away private hotel.

Each of the 24 unique accommodations embodies the enviable lakeside lifestyle that has made Lake Como so beloved through the ages. At Passalacqua, it’s all about reviving the lost art of travel known as villeggiatura and making new memories that connect us with our shared past. A place of wonder created from the heart. A celebration of lake and life.

Once the home of the Count Lucini Passalacqua, today’s guests follow in the footsteps of illustrious visitors from Napoleon Bonaparte and Winston Churchill to Vincenzo Bellini, who composed some of his most famous operas here.

The De Santis family, rooted to Lake Como for generations and owners of the iconic Grand Hotel Tremezzo, has brought this historic residence back to life with love and respect, choosing each feature and designing every detail with great care.

The mansion boasts seven acres of lush gardens across eight scenic terraces leading down to the lake shore, its mature trees and stately palms framing the blue expanse sparkling below. Nature has conspired with generations of green-thumbed geniuses to produce a setting like no other.

The 24 rooms and suites are housed either in the grand Villa, the ancient Palazz or the romantic Casa al Lago, nestled in the lush gardens.

The Villa houses twelve rooms and suites boasting high ceilings with exquisite stucco and fresco decorations as well as grandiose Murano chandeliers. Its Bellini Suite, the largest on Lake Como, includes the Sala della Musica with double-height vaulted ceilings, where Bellini was known to tinkle the ivories.

The Palazz is home to the luxurious spa as well as eight cozy rooms with jewel-toned walls as rich as velvet, ceiling lamps of the finest Venetian silk and centuries-old oak trusses.

The Casa al Lago garden cottage is immersed in lush landscaping with the lake literally at its feet. Its four rooms and junior suites, each with access to the garden, are also available for exclusive use.

The unique approach to dining invites guests to enjoy Italian delicacies by Chef di Casa Viviana Varese when, where and just the way they like: choose from a variety of relaxed dining spaces indoors and out, find a farm-to-table tasting or cooking experience to try, drop by and see what the team is up to in the open, all-day kitchens.

Nestled among the garden terraces, burbling fountains and centuries-old trees, guests can enjoy a panoramic swimming pool, an open-air gym in the olive grove, a lakeside tennis court, movie nights under the stars and much more.

Lavish wellness programs are designed to restore the mind, body and soul, offering relaxation and treatment rooms in the Palazz, with rituals inspired by the lake’s magic and the green molecular products of Seed to Skin. A secret staircase leads to a one-of-a-kind spa experience in the steam bath, sauna and indoor pool housed in the 18th-century underground tunnel.

The property’s private pier at the lake shore invites guests to take to Lake Como in style –for a quick dip or on one of the motorlaunches, the taxi boat Giumello and the leisure craft Didi by Cantiere Colombo. Or enjoy the latest additions to the fleet: the elegant Riva Aquariva Passalacqua and the vintage wooden craft Riva Olympic.

Staying at Passalacqua gives guests an all-access pass to life at the villa, whether that means making ice cream with the gelataio, swapping pruning tips with the gardeners, kneading pasta dough with one of the chefs or perfecting your volo shot on the bocce court.

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