Self Catering Lake Como Villa

Villa Rustica is a beautiful secluded Italian farmhouse, nestled in the trees above Lake Mezzola on the northern tip of Lake Como. With breathtaking views across the lake to the mountain range beyond, it’s the perfect location for exploring the lake and surrounding valleys and mountains. Surrounded by a private garden and extensive woods with breathtaking views, this sympathetically renovated 4 bedroom villa combines modern technology with traditional materials to create a comfortable, relaxing and beautiful holiday home. There is under floor heating and Broadband WiFi is available throughout the house and on the terrace. Guests can access the entire house, including the original vaulted cellar with a wood burning stove that makes a stunning dining room. There are two outdoor areas for eating, one covered and one out in the open near the wood fired BBQ. Guests can walk down a steep track to the lake to swim and sunbathe. Ground floor. The open plan ground floor includes a delightful and fully equipped farmhouse style kitchen, with chestnut work surfaces, oak beams and a wooden table around which you can comfortably seat eight people. At the other end of the room near the wood burning fire, there is a sofa and window seat, television, DVD player and amplifier with a docking station. The kitchen leads into the stairwell which connects all floors of the house, including the cellar. First floor. A short corridor connects two bedrooms and a bathroom with both a bath and shower. Bedroom 1 has direct access onto a wooden balcony with stunning views over the lake and mountains. It has a double bed, a built in wardrobe, a chest of drawers and space for a cot. Bedroom 2 contains a double bed and a bunk bed and is perfect for a small family or four children. It has a chest of drawers and views of the lake and mountains. Top floor. Bedroom 3 is a large double room with French windows the whole width of the house, giving spectacular views of the mountains. It also has a wardrobe and chest of drawers. Bedroom 4 is a small room with a bunk bed. The spacious bathroom opposite has a large open shower. Cellar. The original vaulted cellar can be accessed from the stairwell or garden and is lit with an atmospheric combination of floor lighting and candles. Heated by a large wood burning fire, with a handmade rustic 10 seater oak table this is a unique and very special place to enjoy cool dining in the heat of the summer and cosy warmth in the depths of winter. Garden. The peaceful garden is terraced, with surrounding stone walls and extends into the woods and all around the house. There outdoor seating and a covered paved area with a table to seat 12 looking out over a grass lawn on two levels. The lower level has a beautiful antique stone table, which easily seats 8 people. There is a traditional stone BBQ and a children’s climbing frame with swing, slide and playhouse. The lake is just 5 minutes walk away and is accessed via a path on private land. The path is rather steep and difficult in some places so do take care. The house will be yours as we do not live there when guests are staying, so you have complete peace and privacy. We are available on e-mail and the phone to provide and arrange for help, as is our local property manager who lives a short distance away. As well as enjoying the outstanding natural beauty and countryside at our Lake Como villa, there is lots to see and do in the surrounding area, from enjoying the delights of the local Italian cuisine to cycling, sailing, walking and winter sports. Cycling Routes in and around Lake Como. Enjoy mountain biking from the doorstep of Villa Rustica or road biking from the top of the track, a short walk from the villa. The surrounding area is ideal and popular with cyclists, with numerous tracks and routes. For more information about the wonderful cycling in this area visit: Walking from our villa at Lake Como. You can enjoy some fantastic walks from the villa, either by following a well marked path (Sentiero) or by exploring the hills above Albonico. A short drive to Verceia (the village on the other side of the lake opposite the house) and you can explore Valle dei Ratti or continue up Valchiavenna or Valtellina. For more information about walking in this beautiful corner of Italy visit: The wildlife of Lake Mezzola and the surrounding area. Lago Di Mezzola sits in the Pian Di Spagna nature reserve offering a haven of natural wildlife along the southern edge of the lake and the River Mera that connects Lago di Mezzola and Lago di Como. There are several other nature reserves in Valtellina a short drive away from Villa Rustica. For more information visit: Follow Valchiavenna and be on the ski slopes of Madesimo within a couple of hours. It’s a 30 mile (50 km) drive or for a unique experience, leave the car at Campodolcino and take the funicular railway to the slopes. Alternatively, St Moritz is just 50 miles (80 km) away. Both resorts offer great downhill skiing, cross country skiing, tobogganing and skidoos. Summer Sports. Lago di Mezzola has power boat speed restrictions and therefore is the ideal place to enjoy quieter water sports. Hire a boat and explore, walk twenty minutes along the roman path to Dascio and hire a canoe or take the day trip boat to San Fedelino for a great day out. Alternatively, head down to the town of Gera Lario which is a twenty minute drive (or a short trip down the River Mera) and you can enjoy sailing, windsurfing, kite surfing, wake-boarding and water-ski lessons. Gardens, villas and museums of Lake Como, Italy. By car or ferry, you can visit some of the famous villas and gardens of Lake Como. Take the ferry to Tremezzo and explore the gardens of Villa Carlotta on your way to lunch on the only island on Lake Como, Comacina. Closer to home you can visit: Local restaurants. From our villa at Lake Como there is a great variety of places to eat, drink and soak up the local Italian atmosphere. The Enoteca Portovino on the edge of the old marina in Colico is a real treat in both summer and winter. Eating at a local Agriturismo, where they tend to serve a local set menu, is an inexpensive way to try local cuisine or why not just walk from the house to Trattoria Nives in Albonico or the restaurants of Dascio. Shopping. There are numerous places to buy food in the area, all within a short drive. These include weekly markets, local bakeries, supermarkets (the largest being "Iperal Fuentes Piantedo", and a shopping mall. There are also many boutiques, clothes and sports shops. Fly & Drive. The easiest way to reach Villa Rustica is to fly to one of the three Milan airports (Malpensa - MXP, Linate - LIN, Bergamo - BGY) and hire a car. Depending on traffic, the three airports are between a 1 ½ hr and 2 hr drive from the villa, Bergamo usually being the quickest. Bringing or hiring a Sat Nav is a good idea if you’d like to take a slower but more scenic route up the west side of the lake from Malpensa or a faster route from all airports up the east side of the lake. You can stock up on supplies on the way at the Iperal supermarket in Piantedo. Plane & Train. Due to the location of this Lake Como villa, we do recommend a car, if only to venture out to do some shopping. If you don’t have a car, then you can take a bus from each of the airports to Milan Central Station and then take a direct train to Colico which is a 15 minute drive from the house. The direct train takes an hour and a half. Door to door it takes about four hours from Malpensa Airport to the house if you take a bus and then the train to Colico. Alternative train routes are available from Malpensa. If you would like to see Lake Como on your way, then you can take a train from Milan Central or from Malpensa Airport to Como Nord Lago with a change at Saronno. Then take the hydrofoil ferry to Colico. This picturesque route takes about four hours from Malpensa Airport, but you are a little more restricted by the ferry times. Pricing may vary due to the limitations of AirBnB settings. For low and mid season bookings, there is a minimum stay of 4 nights and for peak season a minimum stay of 7 nights. Parking and access to this wonderful villa at Lake Como. There is plenty of room at the house for parking, but as the photo of the drive illustrates, it is steep and rough, so access all the way to the house is by 4 x 4 vehicle only. There is however parking at the top of the drive and it’s just a 2 minute walk down to the house. Upon arrival and departure we will arrange for transport of your luggage and shopping between your car and the house at no extra cost. We do recommend that you do your main supermarket shop before checking in so that it can all be driven down to the house for you.