18 Sep 19th Century Textile Spinnery Turns Varenna Into Magical Stay

Ah… Lake Como, nestled high in the Italian Alps! My first vague impression of Lake Como came a few years back when I was up very late one night hand-stitching one of my pillows and discovered the incredible film, Gaslight ,on Turner Classic Movies. It’s a small detail in the 1944 film, but early on Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer are married and honeymoon at Lake Como. Unfortunately (Spoiler Alert!) the marriage doesn’t work out so well, and there’s not really any beautiful images of Como, just Hollywood sets and maybe stock film, but the romantic aura of the place comes across. So even though Ingrid’s character may not want to fondly remember her stay there, it’s safe to say that I will.

Lake Como is a glacier lake carved out of giant blocks of ice. When the Ice Age ended the lake was left for everyone to enjoy from early Europeans to high-rolling Roman conquerors, to Ingrid on her honeymoon, and to me and my family.

The lake is long and narrow, with a shape that many describe as a pair of pants. It also can be described as an upside down “Y”.  (See the map in #TextureTuesday‘s post HERE). From north to south it runs about 28 miles and  halfway splits into the two pants legs. It’s narrow, less than three miles wide, so from any location you can see across to the mountains that rise abruptly from the opposite shore. (like behind me in the above photo).  Good design by Mother Nature to create great views and we had plenty!  Like this one below, EVERY day at breakfast.

Also since its fairly narrow, ferries cross the river from many points on the lake, so a great day trip is easily done. If you do happen to cross, you might think about all that beautiful blue water under the boat. Guidebooks note that the lake is quite deep, up to a quarter mile straight down.

Many small townships, or comunes as they call them in Italy, dot the shore of the lake, from Como at the southern end of the western branch, to Bellagio at the “crotch” and many other wonderful places all up and down Como. Here’s one of the ferries below, heading straight to Bellagio. After an afternoon there, you can hop back on the ferry and head for another town. Very easy to do, as they run about every 30 minutes.

Now, let me take you on a journey to our little three days of bliss in Varenna.  We arrived in Varenna, on the eastern side of the lake a few miles above where the two pant legs come together, in the province of Lecco and at the foot of the valley of Esino. We were delighted with our choice, as the town came highly recommended by our dear friend Linda Cangelosi (herself of Italian descent).

Our flight arrived at the Malpensa airport just outside of Milan, and after much deliberation we decided to splurge and hire a car and driver to pick us up at the airport and deposit us at the front door of our hotel – the beautiful Royal Victoria Hotel. The alternative seemed to be catching a train into Milan, then switching to another train to Varenna which would have taken three times as long. Given the long flight and inevitable jet-lag it seemed like a good decision. (And did I mention we started our trip with bad head colds??)

And, it surely was. The ride was relaxing and I could feel my ears pop is we meandered our way up into the mountains through little villages and tunnels.

We arrived in one hour!

The Royal Victoria Hotel is a beautiful, 4-star historic hotel facing Lake Como located in the center of Varenna, a charming medieval village and one of the more quaint and less touristy destinations of the lake region.  The hotel sits smack dab in the heart of the Piazza St. Giorgio, across the street from the 16th century Chiesa di San Giorgio.

And unbeknownst to me, until I returned and looked up more information on their website, the building is a restored 19^th century textile spinnery. How’s that for a bit of serendipity!

It’s British name, comes from the Queen of England staying in the hotel in 1838….so of course you’re going to rename your hotel after her, right? But you don’t need to be British to feel at ease here, as the Hotel Royal Victoria is cozy, charming and comfortable.

Recently renovated to preserve its XIX century magic, the hotel sports modern conveniences, comfortable rooms, a swimming pool in the garden, two restaurants, and a complimentary gourmet breakfast with the most spectacular view. It also has a lovely veranda and a rare beach just below the terrace with it’s own private wharf.

Upon our arrival mid-afternoon, we were greeted with the most friendly, gracious staff who took care of our every need in their comfortable lobby.

But once we got our bearings and all checked in, we quickly dashed up the elevator (a MUST anywhere in Italy, as you will find out why when we get to Florence!) into our room overlooking the piazza.  It was a tad dark, but that was perfect for us since we planned to catch up on some much-needed sleep. And what a spectacular view we had out the window of the centre of Varenna, the mountains and the beautiful church. And they even had a twin bed for our daughter.

Next stop was to explore the hotel. We had no idea of the breadth of beauty that awaited us!  We were simply stunned!  With rain in the forecast our entire 3 days there, we didn’t know what to expect, but we arrived on a picture perfect day and it was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!! Breathtaking really!!

We knew the Royal Victoria Hotel would be nice, but we did not know it was going to be an amazingly gorgeous luxury hotel with simply the most magnificent grounds and spectacular views from the tippy top all the way down to the shores of Lake Como.

Just the stairs alone walking down to the terrace were spectacular. We definitely knew we were going to have three days in a very special place.

The lobby was very comfortable and you had to take the elevator down to get to the stairs that led to the terrace and then the stairs that led to the beach (The triple photo collage shows you the stairs and path leading to their magnificent pebbled beach).

 Let me tell you, one thing to keep in mind when traveling to Italy is there are a lot of stairs!

 But what great exercise and how so worth it to be on the shores of Lake Como.  If you had told me I’d be swimming in Lake Como this year, I would have told you you were CRAZY!!  But sometimes changes in life prompt you to just GO!!! And go we did.

After a bit of a siesta, later that evening we set out on foot to discover Varenna. We walked out the front door, took a left through the piazza and headed downward to the shore and found the coveted promenade and set out for our evening exploratory stroll.

We were rewarded beyond our wildest dreams. In fact, I can’t think of anything to say except that it was magical.  Few tourists or Americans, and the feeling that you were just out for your regular evening stroll in your small village. The Royal Victoria Hotel had recommended one nice restaurant, but it didn’t open until eight that evening and we were starving so we just stopped at a tiny cafe on the sidewalk and that is where we stayed for the entire evening. Nirvana!

The complimentary breakfast EVERY morning was divine!

It’s always good to leave off with food, right?  So as to not make my posts the length of a novel, I’m going to have to stop here and pick up next time as there’s so much to share.  Come along on our stroll next week, you’ll be glad you did! Ciao! XO PG

NOTE: If you want to hear me LIVE on a webinar called “Take Ten: Creatives and Their Spaces”, please RSVP HERE and join us tomorrow, FRIDAY, Sept 25th at 12 noon, CDT. Must RSVP no later than 30 minutes prior to webinar in order to hear interview. More info HERE in Pillow Talk fall newsletter.  Thank you!

 
NOTE: All images and views are my own. I was not compensated in any way to promote this hotel or location.