|
 The beauty of this lake has always attracted the rich and famous and dates back to the Roman times when the poet Catullus owned a villa at Sirmione, Virgil was born near Mantua and the writer/historians Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger came from Como. There were also many other poets who were entranced by the dramatic landscape and beauty of Lake Como including Shelley and Wordsworth.
In the late 19th century and later the lakes became even more popular and took the interest of Queen Victoria who stayed in Villa Cara at Baveno near Stresa in 1879 and the Grand Hotel in Gardone Riviera on Lake Garda hosted Somerset Maugham, Vladimir Nabokov and Winston Churchill. Hemingway who was recuperating after a battle wound at Stresa’s Gran Hotel des Iles Borromees in 1918, used the resort as a backdrop in ‘A Farewell to Arms’.
This region was also a famous haunt for some famous composers; Lake Como gave inspiration to Verdi, Rossini and Liszt.
Today, the lake attracts well known celebrities such as George Clooney, Richard Branson, Matt Damon and Cameron Diaz to name but a few.
|
