![]() “Nothing recalls the hideousness of civilisation.” ” The evergreen hills rising up from the water “have not yet been ruined, and forced to bring in an income, by the hand of man,” she goes on. The views are “unequalled on earth for loveliness,” reflects Countess Pietranera in Stendhal’s novel “The Charterhouse of Parma. Mussolini had the good taste to be shot on the eastern shore in 1945. Virgil called it “our greatest lake.” Pliny the Younger owned a pair of villas there, named Comedy and Tragedy. It has long been one of those exclusive, understated destinations - perennially fashionable, but never reaching the saturation point of, say, Venice or Capri. Lake Como, an upside-down Y set in the Alpine foothills of northern Lombardy, is Italy’s deepest body of water and its third largest. Martin Passalacqua, as seen from Lake Como) ![]() (From left: The conservatory at Passalacqua, with its interiors by designer du jour J. J. This hotel in Lake Como is perfect for a family vacation Image Credit: Danilo Scarpati. ![]() ![]() But after a bit of splashing around in the dreamy hotel pool, he too fell into a state of contemplation, drifting around in his water wings for long stretches, just gazing at the mountains. Normally Aubrey, the two-year-old, likes to spend his time shouting and throwing things. Passalacqua had a miraculous effect on our boys, too. My wife, Johanna, our two sons, and I were subject to a few days of opulence at this stunning hotel in Lake Como last September, when the golden, late-summer light, with its slight yet bracing hint of fall, felt well suited to the place’s stately mood. ![]()
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