15 Sep Texture Tuesday – A Glimpse of Texture in Varenna

Ah, Varenna!  I’ve traveled many places in the world and have some personal favorite relaxation spots in Ouray, Colorado and Deer Isle, Maine, but there’s nothing quite like Varenna, Italy.

Situated about half way up the right pant leg (seriously, that’s how travelers describe it) of the Lake Como region, Varenna is a small charming village (a comune really, like a municipality of Italy) in the beautiful Province of Lecco. Bellagio, as you can see from the map below, is in the crotch of the pants (I did NOT make that up!). And Como is at the bottom foot of the left pant leg. (pretty funny analogy, but very helpful as there are many towns along the shores of Lake Como).

Varenna was founded in 769 and came highly recommended from our dear friend Linda Cangelosi. Thank you Linda!!

Only 784 people reside in Varenna full time, the rest are travelers from all over the world. And I know it’s a place I could go back to every year if I had the resources! (And no, I did NOT see George Clooney….although I did look closely at every private motor boat that whizzed by).

Since this was the beginning for our 14-day trip to Northern Italy to take our 19-year-old daughter, we wanted to treat it just as Varenna recommends, a picturesque and relaxing time, for our little family trio before we did some major sightseeing in Venice, Florence and Milan. And rain was in the forecast, so it was perfect to catch up on sleep at the Royal Victoria Hotel and stroll along the lake, slowly enjoying the beauty of this magnificent region.

For #TextureTuesday today, I selected several images to whet your appetite to experience Varenna along with me on the blog on Thursday.  Each week, I’m going to try and give you a #TextureTuesdayTease with a full feature every Thursday. (At least that’s my goal).  I do have thousands of photos to sort through and of course I want to share it all with you, every detail, so please be sure to sign up for my blog HERE so you can take a trip to Italy too via The Pillow Goddess.

Till Thursday, when you’ll see many more gorgeous photos of the beautiful water and mountains that run straight into the lake, and the delightful Lover’s Walk promenade skirting the waters edge of Lake Como…oh, and the luxury hotel we stayed in, please enjoy a few architectural details of this very special village Varenna. XO, PG

As you can see from above (no that is not our family in bathing suits!) the mountains run straight into the water, so all the villages have to be built on the side of the mountains.  You can imagine the steep climb as you will see.

The texture of Medieval cobble stones were everywhere.

And bricks lined streets and walls.  And a few scooters too inside this little pub.

Loved the whole concept of how the hotel served bottled water in a bag for a quick lunch they scrambled together for us during our mid-afternoon arrival.

Stone, pebbled beaches, and red railings built along the promenade to make it easy to stroll the lake.

It’s always amazing to me to think how ancient these square stone bricks are and all the labor it took to lay them down for not just patios like we would use them, but for entire streets of mountain villages.

Above is a pretty BIG #TextureTuesdayTease, as THIS is what we saw upon entering the back of our hotel. Palm trees, stone pathways, a pool, columns, a beach and then the magnificent water and mountains of Lake Como.  Lake Como is very close to the border of Switzerland, so you really get the feel of the Italian Alps merging with the Swiss Alps.

You walk down these magnificent stairs to reach the pool and outdoor dining area and then a few more stairs and through this gate to reach the private beach below.  It was all so breathtaking!

Some architectural details of gates and grates and doors of course were everywhere scattered through the village as we roamed.

I love this one below, like it is a gate to a magic secret garden.  Varenna is a wonderful retreat for writers who want to stroll and think.

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Ah, this below was the ceiling of the Tourist office!! Magnificent!

I particularly LOVE this iron grate design above!

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But let’s not forget all the color and texture in the food….which was magnifico!  A little Bruschetta below.

Look at all the glorious color and texture in the view from our hotel room. The blue sky and brilliant clouds, the lush green trees and the stone walls and roofs throughout the village.  Our room overlooked the main street and courtyard and was right next to the church. More details on that next time!

And of course I would be remiss in not mentioning the fabulous texture in all the lighting…chandeliers and sconces everywhere….even lanterns along the banks of the lake, which I will show you on Thursday as we stroll along the promenade.

Lastly, here’s a sneek peak of the promenade below for strolling along the lake.  Many of the garden gates and grate work above we saw throughout Varenna and especially while strolling. I can’t wait to take you on our stroll through Varenna!

And a couple parting shots of the beautiful images I can’t wait to share with you!  The last image I zoomed in so you could see the texture in the mountains across the lake. This was on the day it rained and left a brilliant sky full of puffy white clouds resting on the Italian Alps. See you Thursday!