1/11/23, 7:47 PM Lake Como - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 46°00′N 9°16′E

Lake Como
Lake Como (Italian: Lago di Como [ˈlaːɡo di ˈkɔːmo], locally
Lake Como
[ˈkoːmo]; Western Lombard: Lagh de Còmm [ˈlɑː‿dːe ˈkɔm],[a]
Cómm [ˈkom] or Cùmm [ˈkum]), also known as Lario
(Italian:  [ˈlaːrjo]; after the Latin: Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial
origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 square kilometres
(56  sq  mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake
Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is
the fifth deepest lake in Europe, and the deepest outside Norway;
the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres (660 ft) below sea
level.
Panoramic view of Lake Como with the
Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy
Alps and Bellagio
people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction
with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and
palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta.
Many famous people have had and have homes on the shores of
Lake Como. Lake Como

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian
Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

In 2014, The Huffington Post called it the most beautiful lake in

the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious
villas and villages.[2]

Contents
Etymology
Geography
Climate
Tourism
Lakeside villas
Ferries
Sacro Monte di Ossuccio
Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake
In literature and the arts
Gallery Location Lombardy, Italy
Notes Coordinates 46°00′N 9°16′E
Footnotes
Native name Lago di Como (Italian)
References
Lagh de
Comm (Lombard)
Etymology Primary inflows Adda, Mera

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The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this Primary Adda
name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally outflows
"lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to
Catchment area 4,509 km2
the Romans as Comum. In guidebooks the lake may be variously
(1,741 sq mi)[1]
referred to as Lake Como.[3]
Basin countries Italy, Switzerland

Geography Max. length 46 km (29 mi)

Max. width 4.5 km (2.8 mi)
The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern
Surface area 146 km2 (56 sq mi)
branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and
Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern Average depth 154 m (505 ft)[1]
branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Max. depth 425 m (1,394 ft)
Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of
Water volume 22.5 km3
the lake: a triangular boat service operates between them.
(18,200,000 acre⋅ft)
Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Residence time 5.5 years[1]
Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes
Shore length1 160 km (99 mi)
the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is
often flooded. Surface 198 m (650 ft)[1]
elevation
The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern
arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as Islands Isola Comacina
the Larian Triangle,[4] or Triangolo lariano. The source of the Settlements Como, Lecco (see
river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of section)
Canzo is the seat of the Comunità montana del Triangolo lariano, [1]
References
an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000
1
inhabitants of the area. Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Climate

Lake Como weather is humid subtropical (Cfa in the Köppen climate

classification). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature
in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from
~3.7  °C (39  °F) in January to 23.4  °C (74  °F) in July, according to
historical weather data from Como.[5] Water temperatures can reach an
average of 24  °C (75  °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and is mainly at Aerial photograph of Lake Como,
higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the showing its distinctive three-armed
winter months. shape

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Climate data for Lake Como

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average 6.8
9.0
12.9
17.2
21.1
25.6
28.5
27.2
23.7
18.1
11.7
7.8
17.5

high °C (°F) (44.2) (48.2) (55.2) (63.0) (70.0) (78.1) (83.3) (81.0) (74.7) (64.6) (53.1) (46.0) (63.5)

Daily mean 3.7

5.5
8.8
12.7
16.4
20.7
23.4
22.4
18.9
14.0
8.5
4.7
13.3

°C (°F) (38.7) (41.9) (47.8) (54.9) (61.5) (69.3) (74.1) (72.3) (66.0) (57.2) (47.3) (40.5) (56.0)

Average low 0.5

2.0
4.8
8.2
11.8
15.8
18.2
17.6
14.1
10.0
5.3
1.5
9.2

°C (°F) (32.9) (35.6) (40.6) (46.8) (53.2) (60.4) (64.8) (63.7) (57.4) (50.0) (41.5) (34.7) (48.5)

Average
69
76
117
107
161
134
85
136
116
125
129
63
1,318

precipitation
(2.7) (3.0) (4.6) (4.2) (6.3) (5.3) (3.3) (5.4) (4.6) (4.9) (5.1) (2.5) (51.9)
mm (inches)

Source: "Climate data for Como" (http://clisun.casaccia.enea.it/profili/tabelle/062%20%5BComo%5D%20capoluogo.Txt). Retrieved

March 17, 2019.

Tourism
As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas.[6] It is a venue for
sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.[7] In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This
lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, with the exception of the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is
long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the
forests".[8]

In the area surrounding Lake Como there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil,
cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in
person to make their purchases.[9]

In 2018, the Italian luxury label Dolce and Gabbana held a fashion event on Lake Como.[10]

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there
since Roman times, when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the
Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens
that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of
22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4  cu  mi) of lake water and can sustain many
subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690
and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the
Villa Carlotta
Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and
sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to
powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista
Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme.
In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta,
after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid
out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural
implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi
Acquisti.[11]

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Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio,

a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of
Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become
Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The
landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period.
Later in the century it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa
d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a
promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built Villa Melzi d'Eril
in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of
the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his
work.

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect

Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke
Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian
Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues,
and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on lake Como, with huge
rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and
Franz Liszt.[12] The Lake Como waterfront at
sunset, Varenna.
Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation
Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference center
set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which
also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around
the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's
villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th
century by Alessandro Serbelloni.

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake
Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George
Clooney,[13] Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian
Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and Villa del Balbianello
José Mourinho.

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport

system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized
service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the "Lario", was
launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei
battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system
has been run under the auspices of a government organization called
first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Lake Como from lakeside villa
Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for
services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.[14][15]

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona
and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.
Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost
extra.
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Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus
Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.[16]

The paddle steamer Concordia and the car ferry Plinio

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary

located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the
western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque
inspired chapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the
Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the
Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the
Coronation of the Virgin.

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of

Chapel 5 of Sacro Monte di
Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.
Ossuccio. Disputation with the
Doctors
Villages, resorts, and other notable
localities near the lake
Cities and villages on Lake Como
Western shore
South shore
Eastern shore

from North to South from West to East from North to South

Domaso Como Colico

Gravedona Blevio Dorio
Dongo Brunate Dervio The Parco Meier, a public garden at
Musso Torno Bellano Tremezzo
Menaggio Nesso Varenna
Cadenabbia Bellagio Lierna
Griante Malgrate Mandello del Lario
Tremezzo Lecco Lecco
Mezzegra
Lenno
Ossuccio
Sala Comacina
Colonno
Argegno
Brienno
Menaggio from Lake Como
Moltrasio
Cernobbio
Como

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In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap
Book, 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.[17]

Gallery

Panoramic view of Lake Como.

The lake seen from the city of Como.

The lake seen from Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, near its centre.

Notes
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1. "Laghi italiani" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100205043503/http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.ht

m). Istituto Italiano di Idrobiologia. Archived from the original (http://www.iii.to.cnr.it/limnol/cicloac/lagit.ht
m) on 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
2. "The World's 20 Most Beautiful Lakes" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fodors/the-worlds-20-most-beauti
_b_4219429.html). The Huffington Post. 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
3. "Насон - История города Вологды - Озера" (https://nason.ru/ozera/1440/).
4. The meaning of Larian is "related to the Lake Como", since the Latin name of Lake Como was Larius.
So, the expression Triangolo lariano, or, in English, Larian Triangle, means exactly "Lake Como
Triangle" or "Triangle of the Lake Como".
5. "Climate data for Como" (http://clisun.casaccia.enea.it/profili/tabelle/062%20%5BComo%5D%20capoluo
go.Txt).
6. Lake Como holidays (http://www.inghams.co.uk/lakes-mountains-holidays/resorts/location/item165325/la
ke-como-selection/), inghams.com, April 20, 2010
7. 2006 Kiteboard Pro World Tour event, Lake Como (http://www.italiaspeed.com/2006/cars/fiat/06/kiteboar
dpro/0606.html), Italiaspeed.com, June 6, 2006
8. Francis W Halsey, ed. (1914). Seeing Europe with Famous Authors (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1906
1/19061-h/19061-h.htm). Vol. VIII. Funk & Wagnells.
9. "Directly from the producer - Lago di Como" (http://www.lakecomo.it/en/sports/shopping_and_spare_tim
e/directly_from_the_producer). www.lakecomo.it.
10. Singer, Olivia (2018-07-08). "Inside The Opulence Of Dolce & Gabbana's Lake Como Extravaganza" (htt
ps://www.vogue.co.uk/article/dolce-gabbana-alta-moda-como-2018). Vogue UK. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
11. See Infoparchi, Villa Carlotta; Villacarlotta.it, Villa Carlotta; Macadam, Alta
12. See Infoparchi, Villa Melzi.
13. "Lifeinitaly.com" (https://web.archive.org/web/20091106054721/http://www.lifeinitaly.com/italian-movies/cl
ooney.asp). Archived from the original (http://www.lifeinitaly.com/italian-movies/clooney.asp) on 2009-11-
06.
14. Massimo Gozzi, "History of Navigation on Lake Como" (http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/storia/co
mo/1.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20091015075933/http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/c
om/storia/como/1.html) 2009-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi,
2007, pp 1–2.
15. "General Management" (http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/sed/sede.html) Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20100505021209/http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/sed/sede.html) 2010-05-05 at the
Wayback Machine, Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, 2007.
16. " 'Autumn Timetable 2009' Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100
316160050/http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html). Archived from the original (http://www.
navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html) on 2010-03-16.
17. Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1836). "picture". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 (https://play.googl
e.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA50). Fisher, Son & Co.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth
(1836). "poetical illustration". Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 (https://play.google.com/books/r
eader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA53). Fisher, Son & Co.

Footnotes
a. In isolation, lagh is pronounced [ˈlɑːk].

References
Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). "Como, Lake of"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Ency
clop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Como,_Lake_of). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). p. 794.

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Macadam, Alta (1997). Blue Guide. Northern Italy: From the Alps to Bologna. London: A & C Black.
ISBN 0-7136-4294-7.
Villacarlotta.it, Villa Carlotta (https://web.archive.org/web/20070503014800/http://www.villacarlotta.it/sito/i
ndex2.php)
Online camera Como (http://insecam.org/en/view/835828/)

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