LAKE COMO – Travel guide for opera, classical music and culture

Love nest in Moltrasio

Vincenzo Bellini spent some summer months at his beloved Lake Como in the villa town of Moltrasio. There he composed “La straniera” and “La sonnambula” and met with his (married) mistress Giuditta Turina.

He lived as a guest in various villas in the exclusive Moltrasio. For example, the fantastic Villa Passalacqua (which enchanted Churchill and Napoleon Bonaparte) with its magnificent garden and view of the sea (bookable). The village honored the Bellini with a monument.

Villa Passalacqua:

Bellini monument in Moltrasio:

Long years in Brissago at the Lago Maggiore

In 1890, Ruggiero Leoncavallo came to the Ticino village of Brissago (near Lake Como) for the first time during a bicycle tour. He kept the village in good memories later rented a house and 14 years later decided to build his own Art Nouveau villa there, the artists’ retreat “Myriam”. There he received, among others, the singers Caruso and Tetrazzini and Eleonora Duse, and wrote his following works. He had the striking statues of his “Roland of Berlin” and his “Zaza”, both operatic figures, erected in the garden. He also befriended the eccentric Antoinette de Saint-Leger, who had her villa on the Isole di Brissago.

Leoncavallo also made efforts to promote cultural aspects in Ticino and Brissago had already made him an honorary citizen with a beautiful tribute in 1904. Leoncavallo was always generous with his money and with the beginning of the World War he fell into financial difficulties and had to sell Villa Myriam in 1916. This villa was unfortunately demolished in 1978.

Escape to Bellagio from the scandal in Paris

When Liszt arrived in Bellagio, he wrote in a letter, “When you write the story of two happy lovers, set it on the shores of Lake Como. I know of no place more demonstrably blessed by heaven; I have seen no other where the charms of a love life can appear more natural.”

The 25-year-old Liszt had fled to Geneva in early 1835 with the married Marie d’Agoult and her daughter to escape the hostility of better society, which disapproved of this alliance. In addition, Marie was pregnant and they did not want to experience the scandal of giving birth to a child together in Paris. After the months in Geneva, they chose the Villa Bellagio as their destination and spent three months there. There their daughter Cosima was born, who 35 years later would marry Richard Wagner.

Triumphs throughout Europe

In 1797, in Saronno (between Como and Milan), a person was born who would become the leading opera singer in Europe for over a decade. Giuditta Pasta became a singer with a considerable range and performing qualities.

Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti entrusted her with their most important roles and she appeared as a star in Naples, Milan, Vienna, Paris and London. Her career peak was the two formidable years 1830-32 when she triumphantly premiered the roles of Anna Bolena, Norma and Armina (“La Sonnambula”). Pasta lived her first eleven years in Saronno and then went to Milan to study music.

Lover of Bellini (and Donizetti?)

Giuditta Pasta was Vincenzo Bellini’s muse, he considered her the perfect interpreter of his leading roles. He once wrote when he saw her in Bergamo that she still brought tears to his eyes even after countless performances.

Pasta was one of the greatest opera singers of the 19th century. At a young age she bought the estate in Blevio, which she made her residence at the age of 30. Bellini often came to her from Moltrasio, where he had his composition and love nest. Donizetti also visited her, even staying with her for a month when he worked with her on “Anna Bolena”.

With her roles such as Norma, Anna Bolena or Armina (“La sonnambula), the description of her voice as a soprano sfogato (“a dramatic coloratura soprano with great vocal range”) and her strong acting abilities, she is often compared to Maria Callas. A museum about her life is located in Saronno (see also further down)

The singer Pasta spent the second half of her life in the villa, died on April 1, 1865 at the age of 67 and was buried in the small cemetery in Blevio.

The city of Saronno already honored her by naming its theater after the singer and, since 2019, with a museum made possible by a donation from a collector. The museum in Villa Gianetti shows in five rooms a collection with a total of 667 objects, paintings, lithographs, stage decorations, furniture, scores and letters that belonged to the singer and her relatives.

Glance into the museum:

Adress: 20, Via Roma, 21047 Saronno (no Website)

A dreamlike refuge

When Liszt arrived in Bellagio, he wrote in a letter, “When you write the story of two happy lovers, set it on the shores of Lake Como. I know of no place more demonstrably blessed by heaven; I have seen no other where the charms of a love life can appear more natural.”

The villa that so enchanted Liszt is a bourgeois multi-storey palace built directly on the lake in an austere neoclassical style with a large English garden. The garden was raised with hills and exquisitely planted with trees and complemented with sculptures. The beautiful statues of Béatrice and Dante are said to have inspired Liszt to write a piece which he later expanded into the Dante Sonata.

Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata – Arcadi Volodos

Today you can stroll through the beautiful English garden and visit the orangery, guided tours are available.

Villa Melzi:

Villa Melzi GarDen:

https://giardinidivillamelzi.it/en/home-eng/museum-eng/

Bellagio appears most beautiful when approached from the water.

Villa Roccabruna in Blevio

The original Villa Roccabruna no longer stands, the house with an eventful history was rebuilt in 1904 and now houses a resort.

Villa Roccabruna (historic picture):

Tomb in Brissago

Leoncavallo subsequently moved away and died a few years later in Tuscany, where he was also buried. According to the Brissaghesi, Leoncavallo had expressed the wish to be buried in Brissago. 70 years later, people in Brissago remembered this and wanted to transfer the body to Brissago. However, they could not find the ominous letter that was supposed to prove this verbal statement. Finally, Leoncavallo’s last remaining relative agreed and the remains were transferred to his present burial place, the beautiful church of Madonna di Ponte in Brissago. His tomb now lies in the beautiful portico overlooking Lake Maggiore.

Leoncavallos Tomb:

Madonna di Ponte: