by Matilde Depoli
From Malgrate to Bellagio, like the ancient Milanese nobility on holiday, among the fishing villages and the shy bays of the Como triangle.
The oldest hotel on the east coast is always open, it preserves the nineteenth-century façade but now has a modern design inspired by the nature of the lake and brings the mountain into the room and common areas.
Malgrate It is the first medieval village you come across going up the western bank of the Lecco branch of the Lario. The lakeside, expertly restored, offers a panorama of the capital and the San Martino and Resegone mountains. From every point of view echoes, suspended between clouds and waves, the immortal greeting of Promised Lucia of Manzoni’s memory on the run from Pescarenico and the infamous Don Rodrigo.
As then, even today the same non-replicable figure that distinguishes so much collection, famous, fascinating Beauty, which the world praises, resides in a perfect union.
That of the steep mountains that seem to rise from the waters, so shy as to be known only to the inhabitants who grew up among them, of the dark abysses that wedge themselves into the limestone rocks, forming deep fjords and coves dotted with villages and bell towers. That of the very dense vegetation, which transforms as it slopes down from the peaks to the shores of the lake. Oak, beech and chestnut woods border the pastures, from Grigne, which reaches an altitude of 2,407 meters to Monte Serada, better known as Resegone for its jagged shape like a saw (1,875 metres), irresistible magnets for hikers and hikers high altitude enthusiasts.
Behind Malgrate, overlooking the small village stands the Monte Barroa 922 meter dolomitic limestone outcrop which, next to the woods, lays out colorful meadows in the sun on the south side in spring, thanks to the flowering of orchids.
Looking down, you come across olive groves and vineyards cultivated on narrow sloping terraces with patience, hand strength and infinite care for the local environment. In the area of Montevecchiawhich enjoys a particularly mild position, small productions of wines collected under the Terre Lariane IGT brand survive. The olive grower Fabio Festorazzi in Perledo was among the first in the 1970s to recover a handful of hectares of abandoned territory and a seventeenth-century oil mill. Downstream, nestled between the sheer walls that limit the strip of the Provincial road and the shoreline, gardens of azaleas, rhododendrons and exotic species embellish the scenic aristocratic villas and the well-kept villages, including Bellagio, the most famous destination for tourist visits.
Hotel Promessi Sposi
The oldest hotel on the east coast
In this delicate balance between nature and urban architecture theHotel Promessi Sposthe. The indissoluble bond with the surrounding environment is sought and expressed by the couple, both in life and in the entrepreneurial project, of the General Manager Fabio Dadati and Sabrina Frigerio, Artistic Director of the Hotel.
Dadati, entrepreneur and political figure with a long career – has been advisor to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and chairs the Lecco Hoteliers Consortium in the valorisation of cultural tourism together with Confcommercio and Federalberghi – acquires the Betrothedi in 2017, then a 3-star hotel in search of renovation and relaunched the well-known “da Giovannino” restaurant, included in the Michelin Guide of 1956. With a courageous vision, strong in the acute guidance of his wife Sabrina Frigerio and the capital of an entrepreneur who is a partner in the real estate sector, in 2019 he started a restyling radical of what is now the oldest hotel on the eastern shore of the lake. During the closure it still remained in business From Giovanninotransferred to the fine spaces of the villa’s early twentieth-century pergola and transformed into a lakeside bistro, also a meeting point for the people of Lecco. In 2023, it returns to Malgrate a 4-star luxury nineteenth-century villa restored according to the criteria of eco-sustainability, energy efficiency, functionality and preservation of the natural and architectural context of reference.
With a vast range of experiences to discover the Lecco area based on desires, inclinations and seasons, the Hotel has 69 rooms, the elegant restaurant with only 20 seats Lisander fine diningthe Bistro From GiovanninoThe People Cocktail Bar & Caféthe panoramic SPA with exclusive treatment area of the Parma brand Comfort Zonethe gym with Technogym equipment, the panoramic terrace – magnificent for observing the shades that the sunset paints on the water or to be reserved for special events – the bright meeting room and the solarium. The ascending garden, the true star of the hotel, appears unexpectedly on the road that leads to the corridors of the rooms. The interweaving of the wild flora of the slope and the orderly flora of the garden, visible from all floors facing the interior of the building, gives great harmony. The native plants and Mediterranean herbs that populate it bloom in rotation for 365 days: pines, helichrysum, myrtle, rosemary, the pagoda tree, the American tupelo and a row of white hydrangeas.
Al Betrothed the interiors also bring the mountain into the design. Colors and materials reflect the colors of the forest in the olive, moss and pine greens, and the shades of the lake in the gray stone. We pay homage to the Italian excellence of Artemide and Tacchini for the lights and seats and we look at the traditional manufacturing of the noble homes of Lecco in the choice of the narrow heat-treated oak slats of the floor and of the bronze for the reception and bar counters and for the large fireplace. The area’s ancient professions, such as fishermen, spinners and stonecutters, are evoked by the artisanal details of the furnishings: embroidered wire nets for the tables, screens and chandeliers by Luceplan, precious green Serpentino marble from Valmalenco for the swimming pool “The Tree House”a modern adjoining structure that shares the hill of the property with the historic building.
Experiences in the surrounding area
Natural forest light is a companion to experiences inside and outside the hotel. Among the medieval cobbled alleys and wrought iron railings of Malgrate stand out the votive chapel dedicated to those who died from the plague of 1630, which houses numerous bones and the remains of a knight, and the two Agudio palaces, residences of the ancient family of silk industrialists of an Enlightenment nature. A plaque attests that they hosted Giuseppe Parini, who seems to have composed right here The Morningthe first part of the poem The Daywhich satirizes the lifestyle of a young nobleman of the 18th century with a clear pedagogical intent.
In the wake of the Milanese and European aristocracy on holiday, Taxi boats Malgrate offers navigation in elegant heated wooden boats, for two or four hours in the heart of the Larian triangle starting from 480 euros for a maximum of three people in agreement with the guests of the Hotel Promessi Sposi. The parade of villas and colorful villages begins in Varenna with Villa Monastero. It then touches Lierna, in the hamlet of Borgo Castello jutting out on a promontory, with the walls and towers of the now lost castle where she used to stay Queen of the Lombards Teodolinda and where Queen Adelaide of Burgundy, wife of Emperor Otto I and muse of Gioacchino Rossini in the opera of the same name, was held prisoner. Mandello, with the poor colored houses of the fishermen piled up on the beach, reveals the shy tree-lined bay of Pescallo, the realm of Villa Serbelloni now the Rockefeller Foundation, and culminates at the Bellagio landing place.
Here, the gardens and the very white, neoclassical Villa Melzi d’Eril they arouse wonder and a sense of pride. There are many and rare exotic plants that make up the botanical heritage born from the genius of Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Duke of Lodi and Grand Chancellor of the Italian Kingdom after the fall of Napoleontranslated into perfection by architects Giocondo Albertolli and Luigi Canonica and the botanist Luigi Villoresi. Among these, real vegetal cathedrals stand out: Sequoias, Montezuma Pines, Maples of various species and origins, a Camphor and the incredible tree Wedding Cake. The Neoclassical rigor is traced in the lines of the house, in the avenue of plane trees adorned with statues by Comolli, in the basins with fountains, in the Moorish kiosk and in the orangery, now a museum. But the romantic demon disturbs the order of the end of the eighteenth century, peeps out from the gaudy patches of enormous azaleas and rhododendrons, plays with the reflections of the infinite shades in the Japanese lake and in the caves rocaille.
Hotel Promessi Sposi
Hotel experiences
Even theHotel Promessi Sposi it stands as a vehicle of Como culture, embracing nature while involving the senses, beyond its borders. The sense of smell, paired with hearing, is inebriated with the forest inside and outside its rooms: in the SPA during the ritual Relaxing – Tranquility the body is gently treated with the oil Tranquility of Comfort Zone based on amaranth, cedar, rose, sandalwood, geranium, lemon and vetiver, a guarantee of relaxation even for sensitive skin (25′ – 60 euros).
The local recipes visited by the young man Chef Alessio Limontaat the helm of the two restaurants, seduce taste through local products selected by food artisans. Al Lisanderhis greeting consists of hand-rolled ancient grain bread and breadsticks with hay-flavored butter, elderflower and Maldon salt. Simple and attentive to enhancing the pure taste of the raw materials. An example of this is the cheese plateau Casera, Taleggio and blue cheese from Valsassina goat from the Carozzi company proposed From Giovannino Bistropike perch – delicious raw with raspberry garnish – and lake whitefish on cream and crispy leeks with cabbage, risotto with S. Massimo rice/ pumpkin/ raspberries/ smoked butter/ licorice, accompanied by 100% Riesling Metodo Classico Extra Brut “Incrediboll” from La Costa winery in the Curone Park and by the impetuous Rosso di Valtellina DOC of Harpep, chosen by sommelier Andrea Galbusera. The 4-course tasting menu starts from €85 per person, excluding wines.
The visual and tactile connection with Green remains constant in every space. Swimming in the precious swimming pool in the Serpentine of “La Casa sull’Albero” it means immersing yourself in the green heart of the hill or in the wild ravines of the rocks of the lake. Meditate or read in the Lake View Terrace roomenjoy a spicy People Margarita by bartender Matteo Marzocchi, whose secret is a drop of liqueur Green anchors Mexican with pepper, and opening the windows to the thin morning air from a postcard balcony crystallizes the “perfect paradise of peaceful rest” at the Mark Twain.
A Superior Room with dinner for two people per Lisander it is starting from 350 euros in low season.
Info: hotelpromessisposi.it