Lombardy (in Italian Lombardia) is one the regions of Italy, located in the middle of the North of the country.
It is surely one of the most industrious and productive regions of Italy, being the center of the economy and business. Lombardia lies between the Alps and the Po river’s plain and it has a various scenery: busy cities, medieval villages, resorts on the lakes’ coasts mixed with green hills, cultivated fields, vineyards and lemon groves.
The capital of Lombardia is Milan, the second-largest Italian metropolis after Rome. This city is considered the heart of the finance and the fashion in Italy: Versace, Valentino, Prada and several others famous fashion designers have their headquarters in Milan as well as home wares and furniture designers like Kartell and Alessi. But Milan is not just the capital of the economy and fashion. It is also a historical and artistic city with many interesting spots to visit: its Gothic cathedral, the church of Sant’Ambrogio, the Castello Sforzesco (the court of Sforza’s family), La Scala opera house, Sempione Arch, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and much more.
Milan has a lot to offer as well during the night: bars where you can enjoy an Italian aperitivo (happy hour with variety of snacks), several restaurants where you can taste dishes of the local cuisine (such as the delicious “risotto alla milanese’’), theatres with different kinds of shows, clubs and discos.
If you want to visit Lombardia, you can find many places and some authentic areas uncontaminated by mass tourism: the Roman city of Brescia, the Medieval Bergamo, Cremona (where originally violins were made); Pavia, Varese, Lodi, Lecco and Mantova.
The most spectacular lake in Lombardia is surely Lago di Como, the third largest lake of Italy and one of the deepest in Europe. This lake was a famous holiday location for Roman ancient aristocracy and now it is a place where many international celebrities have a home and like spend their vacation: people such as George Clooney, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Branson love this lake and its neighborhoods.
Lago di Como is beautiful and is surrounded by scenic towns. The shape of the lake is like the letter Y: the town of Colico is located on the northern branch, while the cities of Como and Lecco are in the southwestern and southeastern branches correspondingly.
The little towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna lie at the junction of the three branches of the lake and they are connected to each other by boat service.
The lake is well known for the gorgeous villas built since the Roman times with stunning gardens where it is possible to enjoy the gentle climate of the region.
Villa Carlotta, Villa d’Este, Villa del Balbianello, Villa Melzi and Villa Serbelloni are only few of the many spots you can visit.
Lago di Como is also mentioned by writers and poets. In its book The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni, famous Italian writer, chooses Lago di Como as primary location of his novel and he gives an impressive and realistic description of it.
And in 1818, the poet Percy B. Shelley writes in a letter to his friend: “”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”.
Many northern Italians decide to spend their day-off or the weekend in this area, being easily reachable from many of the towns of Lombardia.
Lago di Como has a plenty of accommodation’s options: you can find not only several hotels, but as well your dream holiday home giving you the opportunity to explore all the surroundings.
For the tourists, Lago di Como is admired for its landscape and nature. But it also offers several leisure activities and great venues for sailing, kite surfing and windsurfing.
The tourism, though, is not massive as you can expect in this lake’s area: for this reason, Lago di Como is an ideal spot for a peaceful and interesting holiday in Lombardia and it gives you the chance to discover the beauty of this part of Italy.
