It is, quite simply, impossible not to fall in love with Italy. This is the place where locals will greet you with a warm “piacere”, slow morning cappuccini is not just a ritual but a cultural requisite, and almost every unassuming street corner you chance upon has a remarkably photogenic allure. Not to mention the verdant rolling hills and spectacular coastlines. Our luxury villas in Italy may be set upon a lavish private estate or sumptuously kitted out with Roman-style marble baths and original Venetian chandeliers. From the glamorous lakeside towns of Como and Garda in the north to the emerald mounds of Tuscany and Umbria in the centre and picturesque Puglia in the south, it could take a lifetime of discovery to truly unpick each wonder of Italy.
read moreThe Italian Lakes, Como, Garda and Maggiore, are one of Europe’s most quietly seductive corners, a strip of northern Italy where the Alps soften into deep glacial water and a centuries-old tradition of summering by the lake still shapes the rhythm of a stay. Our collection of luxury villas across the region is built around that tradition: lakeside houses with private jetties, garden estates on the wooded promontories, and elegant retreats above the water with the Alps for a backdrop.
A luxury Italian Lakes villa offers a freedom that hotels cannot match. Take breakfast on a shaded terrace as the mist lifts from the water, spend the morning crossing to a villa garden by mahogany boat, and return for a long lunch on your own loggia before the afternoon ferry hop to a neighbouring village. Whether it is a romantic escape, a multi-generational family gathering, or a slow week with friends, a villa here offers space, privacy and a setting that quietly does the work.
Each Villa Collective property is handpicked for its setting, character and quality of finish. From Belle Époque villas on the Como shore to contemporary lake houses above Garda, our portfolio is built around the region’s most rewarding stretches of water. A stay here is about long aperitivi as the mountains opposite turn from grey to gold, ferry-led days between Bellagio, Varenna and Tremezzo, and unhurried evenings on a lakeside terrace with a glass of Franciacorta in hand. With a luxury Italian Lak
The Italian Lakes sit in the foothills of the Alps across northern Italy, a chain of deep glacial waters where the snow-capped mountains meet a softer, almost Mediterranean climate. Lake Como is the most theatrical, steep-sided, villa-lined and shaped like an inverted Y, while Lake Garda, the largest, opens broader and brighter to the south, ringed by olive groves and Roman ruins. Lake Maggiore stretches west toward the Swiss border, with the Borromean Islands set like jewels at its centre. The region’s great tradition is the villa and its garden, a way of living by the water that has shaped these shores for more than two centuries.
Airports:
Milan Malpensa (MXP), the main international gateway, closest to Como and Maggiore.
Milan Bergamo (BGY), a useful low-cost hub between Como and Garda.
Milan Linate (LIN), Milan’s city airport, the quickest route to southern Como.
Verona (VRN), the closest airport to Lake Garda.
Lake Sizes:
Lake Garda, 370 km², the largest of the Italian Lakes.
Lake Maggiore, 213 km², shared with Switzerland.
Lake Como, 146 km², and among the deepest lakes in Europe.
Main Lakeside Towns:
Lake Como, Bellagio, Varenna, Tremezzo, Menaggio, Cernobbio.
Lake Garda, Sirmione, Gardone Riviera, Limone sul Garda, Malcesine, Riva del Garda.
Lake Maggiore, Stresa, with the Borromean Islands offshore.
Weather:
Spring (April-May): Mild 15-22°C, gardens at their most luminous.
Summer (June-August): Warm 25-30°C, with long days for swimming, sailing and lakeside dining.
Autumn (September-October): Soft 18-24°C, with golden light and quieter ferries.
Winter (November-March): Cool 4-10°C, with snow on the higher peaks.
Distances from Airport:
Malpensa (MXP) to Bellagio (Lake Como), around 1 hour 30 minutes.
Malpensa (MXP) to Tremezzo (Lake Como), around 1 hour 15 minutes.
Verona (VRN) to Sirmione (Lake Garda), around 40 minutes.
Verona (VRN) to Malcesine (Lake Garda), around 1 hour.
Food & Drink: Lake fish, perch, lavarello and the air-dried missoltino, appear on every menu, often as risotto al pesce persico; Franciacorta is the region’s elegant sparkling wine, while Bardolino and Valpolicella come from the hills behind Lake Garda.
Flight Time from UK: Around 2 hours direct to Milan or Verona, with frequent services year-round.
Time Zone: GMT+1, one hour ahead of the UK.
The Italian Lakes are best discovered village by village, with the ferry doing the work. On Lake Como, Bellagio sits at the meeting of the lake’s three arms, cobbled lanes, hidden courtyards and old-money hotels, while Varenna, directly across the water, is its quieter, more painterly cousin in faded ochre and rose. Tremezzo strings itself along the western shore with the great gardens of Villa Carlotta, and Cernobbio sits at the lake’s southern entrance, gathered around its grand hotel and the steep wooded slopes behind. On Lake Garda, the Roman peninsula of Sirmione reaches out into the southern shallows, Gardone Riviera holds the lake’s most ambitious gardens, and Malcesine sits beneath the cable car to Monte Baldo on the eastern shore. Across on Lake Maggiore, Stresa faces the Borromean Islands, Bella, Madre and the fishermen’s Isola dei Pescatori, among the loveliest island groups in Europe.
The Italian Lakes offer an unusually rich range of experiences for so compact a region. On Como, Villa del Balbianello near Lenno, reached by boat through a small wooded inlet, is one of the most photographed gardens in Italy, while Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo holds a vast botanical collection beneath its terraces and Villa Melzi at Bellagio runs its lawns down to the water’s edge. A morning on the lake by mahogany speedboat is the classic Como experience, threading between waterfront villas and small harbours. On Garda, the Vittoriale degli Italiani at Gardone Riviera, the extraordinary cliffside estate of the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio, repays a long visit, and the Grotte di Catullo at the tip of the Sirmione peninsula are among the finest Roman ruins in northern Italy. The Monte Baldo cable car from Malcesine lifts visitors quickly to 1,800 metres for sweeping views across the lake and the Alps beyond. With a luxury Italian Lakes villa as your base, the region can be explored slowly, a garden visit, a ferry hop, a long lakeside lunch, before returning to your own terrace as the mountains opposite turn gold.
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