The Story

Villas, Villages, and the Shape of the Lake

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y, ringed by the Rhaetian Alps with nearly 99 miles of shoreline connecting a string of gingerbread lakeside towns — Bellagio, the "Pearl of Lake Como," at the point where the lake's three branches meet, pastel-painted Varenna on the eastern shore, and quieter Menaggio across the water. The region is dotted with grand villas and gardens: Villa del Balbianello in Lenno, Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina, Villa Monastero in Varenna.

This shoot was captured on film, favoring a softer, more editorial quality suited to the lake's particular light — the villas and stepped lanes of Bellagio, small-town life along the water, and the villas that have drawn travelers to Como since Roman times. It's part of a broader body of Italy and Mediterranean travel work that includes the Amalfi Coast.

Selected work

Lake Como, Italy