What makes Lake Como such an appealing destination for the likes of George Clooney? VFArchive
But while all of the recent real-estate activity is ultimately good for the local economy, which is dependent to a large degree on tourism, the noble families who have lived here for generations are not necessarily thrilled with the changes. And they have ways of putting on the brakes. For one thing, to prevent drastic alterations to the villas, the area has very strict building requirements.
Another reason for high prices is that there is only one part of the lake where everyone wants to buy: the"Riva Romantica," or Gold Coast of Como, a five-mile stretch on the western side between the towns of Cernobbio and Laglio, which gets the sun in the morning—"The gold in the mouth," says Ugoni. So the same gang of super-rich are competing for the same limited properties.
In the dining room, which still has the original 18th-century frescoes and a heavy Venetian crystal chandelier, Sri Lankan waiters serve risotto seasoned with fresh herbs from the garden, and homemade fruit sorbet. Canepa—who is one of the silk manufacturers in Como who still do very well despite globalization—admits his life on the lake is rarefied. Would he ever sell Villa II Balbiano? He shakes his head firmly no.
Versace, who had acquired his crumbling villa in 1977, introduced Elton John and Madonna to the lake. Later came Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. They told their friends. Designers such as Bill Blass, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Oscar de la Renta began vacationing in Como. In 2000,was filmed in part at the Villa del Balbianello, which juts out dramatically into the lake. Jennifer Lopez came on her honeymoon in 2001 with her second husband, Cris Judd.
But Eves's story is exceptional. Partly it was his patience, but also his respect and love for Como, which won over the owner. Other old families refuse to sell, no matter how much money is laid on the table.thena Besana Ciani lives alone in Cernobbio, in the beautifully fading Villa Besana, which once housed her husband's family. Among their number were explorers, members of Parliament, patriots who fought with Garibaldi—the family history is long.
She has had countless offers to sell—from Russians and others—but always refused."My house is like an old lady who speaks to me of all the people who loved her," she says quietly. English lords and Russian princes arrived in the 1800s. The villas, through the coming years, housed tremendous parties full of royalty and heads of state—Kaiser William, Franz Joseph I, the King of Albania, the Queens of Spain, Sweden, and Romania, the Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia, Lady Chamberlain, the Sheikh of Kuwait, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. King Farouk of Egypt spent his honeymoon in 1951 at the Grand Hotel in Bellagio.
On the way home from Villa Melzi, Sergio, the boatman, points out Villa Oleandra. It's the first place Lyudmila Putin, the Russian president's wife, asked to be taken when she visited Como two summers ago, or so a local will tell me later:"She did not ask, 'Where is the cathedral?' She asked, 'Where is the house of George Clooney?' So she took a boat and went to see the house of George Clooney.
"Russians are tough," says one employee who can't be named."Because they arrived at money so quickly, they never learned manners or culture. They look at a menu and scan it for what is the most expensive. To them, that is class. They have no idea of what good taste is." Though local gossip has it that some Comaschi homeowners refuse to sell to Russians, one real-estate agent says,"I think that, even if someone tells you this, if a Russian arrives and offers the asked price, everyone will say, Yes, thanks." Many Russians prefer to pay in cash, this agent adds, even when prices are in the millions, though, he says, an Italian anti-Mafia law makes it illegal to accept more than 12,500 euros in cash.
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