Passalacqua, Lake Como: This magnificent new villa was just named the best hotel in the world - see inside
In 1831, Vincenzo Bellini was invited to stay at a villa on the western shore of Lake Como as a guest of Count Andrea Lucini Passalacqua. One can assume the composer’s presence was greatly appreciated, as he visited on and off for the next three years, writing two of his best loved operas, La Sonnambula and Norma, during his time there.
The Count, who hailed from a noble Como family, had acquired land in the village of Moltrasio in the 1780s and replaced a house on the site with a new lakeside villa. It was a convenient retreat from his palazzo in Como town and the perfect spot to entertain the great and the good of the artistic, literary and musical worlds. An aesthete for sure, the Count was not an ostentatious man – at least not visibly so – and commissioned the architect Carlo Felice Soave to build him a house that, free from fanciful architectural embellishments, would highlight a sense of deep refinement and sobriety.
Inside the house and away from the public eye, however, was a whole other story. Here, a Neoclassical extravaganza was commissioned, largely from the Swiss-born painter, sculptor and architect Giocondo Albertolli. His soaring, first-floor, double-height sala della musica and the grand, oval reception room – with ceiling frescos by the Neoclassical painter Andrea Appiani – became the signature features of the villa’s grand interior.
Perhaps inevitably, the wheel of fortune turned for Villa Passalacqua. By the end of the 19th century, the property had passed out of the family and on to a series of different owners who neglected it and loved it in more or less equal measure for the next 100 years or so. Lake Como changed, too, becoming increasingly a retreat for the internationally fashionable and famous, with many of its historic houses falling into the hands of wealthy foreigners. Among them was an American investment banker who, after a short occupancy and a considered restoration programme, put Villa Passalacqua up for auction in 2018.
Enter the De Santis family, well known in Como for their distinguished hospitality pedigree, most notably as the owners of Grand Hotel Tremezzo – one of the best addresses on the lake’s waterfront, some 25 minutes’ drive north from Moltrasio. The family – father Paolo, mother Antonella and their daughter Valentina – had no prior designs on Villa Passalacqua until they visited out of curiosity just a few days before the auction took place. It was love at first sight.
So Passalacqua (‘Villa’ has been dropped from the name) is back in local hands and opened in June as a hotel for the first time in its 235-year history – setting the bar at a new high for hospitality on Lake Como, perhaps even for Italy itself.
As I sit with Valentina in the magnificent sala della musica under an extraordinary blown-glass chandelier made to order by master Murano glassblowers Barovier & Toso, it is clear that Passalacqua is a true passion project – a loving tribute, if you like, to classical Italian design. Whatever I touch or allude to seems to link to one of the great historical Italian design specialists: silks and damasks from Rubelli; hand-painted leather from Bordoni Leathers; engraved, mirrored mini bars and lift panels from AAV Barbini; bespoke trunks (used to conceal televisions in the bedrooms) by Bottega Conticelli; dinner services by Ginori 1735; elegant rattan chairs by Bonacina 1889; silk and glass lanterns by Fortuny; and lashings of exquisite Antolini marble, picked out piece by piece by Valentina for its colour or pattern.
Valentina’s Covid story is impressive. When a positive test forced her into isolation, she eschewed TV box sets for Rubelli’s entire textile collection, emerging with plans and designs for more than 250 cushions. Meanwhile, her parents sourced the furniture, attending fairs and auctions all over Italy to pull together a collection of contemporary antiques.
The villa is broadly symmetrical in design, with large double doors at the centre opening to a vast scalone (staircase hall), in which six tall windows each house a single rose-coloured, tiered glass chandelier – more sculpture than light fitting. On the ground floor, rooms are arranged as an enfilade, each doorway providing a glimpse of the space beyond. Left takes you through a reception room and a library to the mirrored Chiaroscuro Room. Right to a winter sala and the historic oval room, which now acts as the more formal restaurant alternative to the beautiful blue dining room beyond.
The first floor is similarly laid out, with the spectacular sala della musica, an adjoining bedroom, a bathroom and a sitting room forming one enormous enfilade of rooms – the Bellini Suite, surely the largest, most opulent and most expensive suite in Italy at €10,000 a night. Alas, therefore, only those with deep pockets or privileged access will get the chance to see the jewel in Passalacqua’s crown.
A further 11 bedrooms, each named after a Bellini opera heroine, occupy the main villa (those with lake views being the best). Eight more are in the converted stable block behind – there is a spa here, too. Four are in the standalone Casa al Lago at the lower end of the garden, close to the lake.
From the waterfront, it is a steep climb back up to the villa via a twisting, figure-of-eight cobbled path. This divides the garden into a series of ascending tiered rooms: the olive, rose and vegetable gardens; a formal Italian garden; and a pool area with an orangery-style glasshouse for drinks or light meals. Anchoring the view, among the fountains and palms, are four cedars of Lebanon guarding this gracious piece of Lake Como history like mighty sentinels.
Passalacqua (00 39 031 44311) has double rooms from €1,000, B&B.
Dean Hearne1/10The pool offers spectacular views of the lake.
Dean Hearne2/10A chandelier by master Murano glassbowers Barovier & Toso serves as an exquisite centrepiece in the sala della musica, now part of the Bellini Suite.
Dean Hearne3/10Valentina De Santis at the main entrance.
Dean Hearne4/10A fillet of red mullet with asparagus is served on a plate from the ‘Incanto di Primavera’ collection by the esteemed maker of fine porcelain Geminiano Cozzi Venezia 1765.
Dean Hearne5/10The ceiling of the historic oval room is decorated with a fresco by Andrea Appiani.
Dean Hearne6/10The bathrooms are lined in richly veined marble, selected piece by piece by Valentina from stone specialist Antolini.
Dean Hearne7/10The bedroom in the Giulietta Suite, named after the heroine in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, looks out over the lake.
Dean Hearne8/10In the blue dining room, there is an oak-leaf chandelier made by Il Bronzetto in Florence.
Dean Hearne9/10The Winter Garden orangery next to the pool is furnished with colourful cushions – and matching tableware – from Milanese fashion and homeware brand La DoubleJ, providing the perfect backdrop for relaxed lunches and drinks.
Dean Hearne10/10The hotel has its own private jetty on Lake Como, enabling guests to arrive by boat before being whisked through a hidden underground tunnel that leads directly to Passalacqua’s gardens.
