It is not hard to imagine a small, austere man strolling through the enchanted garden of this villa on Lake Como. He walks slowly, gazing at the dark mirror-like water reflecting the green of the surrounding woods. Perhaps, at last, he is taking a moment for himself, savoring the Italian "dolce far niente."
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That man was Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the many historical figures who stayed at Villa Passalacqua in Moltrasio, a small village on Lake Como. Today, this boutique hotel, owned by the De Santis family, is not only a dreamlike place to pause the hustle and bustle of life and stay outside of time. This wonderful villa is also the symbol of an entirely Italian entrepreneurial project, speaking of good taste, elegance, and hospitality. The perfect blend of art, nature, and welcome.
The villa was officially inaugurated in 1787, after the long renovation of a previous structure owned by Pope Innocent XI. The initial renovations were commissioned by the Odescalchi family following a significant investment in the area. In the 1780s, the family whose name the villa still bears today took over: Count Andrea Lucini Passalacqua bought the residence to use as a summer home.
Architect Felice Soave and decorator Giocondo Albertolli created the rich library rooms, and the halls of the residence began to house numerous works of art. An enchanted place, passed down through the hands of wealthy nobles who preserved and enhanced its aesthetics. The halls and corridors echo the history of those who walked on the terracotta floors and rich carpets. If you stay silent, you can still hear the sound of their footsteps resonating. Like those of composer Vincenzo Bellini, who, inspired by the magic of the villa, wrote operas such as Norma, La Sonnambula, and La Straniera. Today, the hotel celebrates him with the Bellini Suite, the largest on Lake Como. Then came Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister who, it is said, came to Lake Como as a spy-tourist and did anything but rest.
After the death of the last member of the Lucini-Passalacqua family, the villa changed hands several times: an Estonian baroness with a passion for sports cars, then a Hungarian anthropologist, and only in 2018 did it return to the ownership of an Italian family, the De Santis, originally from the area and already owners of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo.
Today, the "royal residence of Moltrasio" includes a magnificent terrace filled with lemons and olive trees that recall the scents of the Mediterranean, a pool, a romantic rose, jasmine, and oleander greenhouse, and eleven working fountains, a backdrop that makes a walk in the garden overlooking Lake Como even more relaxing. Its welcoming spaces are often decorated with original frescoes, warmed by velvet upholstery in deep colors, damask fabrics, Persian rugs, and Venetian chandeliers.
The beauty of the place alone is not enough to achieve excellence. The secret to the success of this enchanted residence? Attention to detail, making reality even better than a dream.
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