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History di Bellagio


The origins and the Roman era.

Even though certain findings from the Paleolithic Period (about 30,000 years ago) are evidence of human presence in the vicinity of Bellagio, it was only between the 7th-5th Centuries B.C. that a “castellum”, a place of worship and exchange, appeared on the promontory. Many of the small villages around the lake used it as a reference point.

We know from Titus Livus that in 520 B.C. groups of Celts (coming from Gaul under the command of Bellovesus) invaded the region of the lake. In fact a legend makes the name of Bellagio derive from the name of this barbaric chieftain.

It was in Roman times that Lake Como (called Larius by the Romans) assumed an important role. Between the years 81 and 77 B.C. Cornelius Scipio brought 3,000 Latin colonists to its shores. However, it was Julius Caesar who was to recognise the strategic importance of the lake as a route to Central Europe and thanks to the “lex Vatinia” that conferred on him the pro-consular power in Cisalpine Gaul, he founded the city of Novum Comum (the present day Como) by the lakeshore in 59BC. He brought up another 5000 colonists, amongst which the most important were 500 Greeks from Sicily. It is thought that it was probably these Greeks who developed the boatbuilding industry so as to make the most of the lake’s potential as an important communication route towards the north.


The harbour of Bellagio in an old print

The Romans introduced the olive tree and the laurel which can still be found in abundance on the lake shores. The Romans are also considered to be the pioneers of tourism, in particular in Bellagio where to this day, it has become the main source of economy.

In a letter, Pliny the Younger (1st Century A.D.) describes the long periods spent in his villa in Bellagio. Not only did he study and write but he also dedicated his time to hunting and fishing.

The decline of the Roman Empire also affected the valleys of the Larius (the Latin name for Lario – Lake Como) which, however, were not influenced by the first barbaric invasions up until the end of the 6th century, when the lake district remained the last refuge of the Romans in Northern Italy, torn apart by invasions and civil war.

The Middle Ages

With the Longobard occupation, Bellagio passed into the hands of Gaidulfo, Duke of Bergamo and was further fortified. In 744, King Liutprando, lived here.

When the Longobards were defeated by the Franks, led by Charlemagne, Bellagio belonged to the County of Lecco. However, the domination of the Carolingian monarchy (which lasted more than a century) left no permanent mark and the population remained, substantially Roman and Longobard.

In the last centuries of the first millennium the Lario was also troubled by internal struggles and frequent invasions even from the Hungarians and the Saracens.

Between the 8th and 9th centuries, the first signs of feudalism appeared in Bellagio with the construction of a tower to defend the town.

In the 10th Century, the Emperor Henry gave several areas on the lake (including Bellagio) as a gift to the Bishop of Como, Eberardo. Bellagio finally freed itself from domination of Lecco.

It is thought that, by 1100, Bellagio was already a free commune with the seat of a tribunal and that its subordination to Como was merely formal.

However, the strategic position of Bellagio was very important for the city of Como which had little time for these autonomist tendencies. Bellagio had thus to suffer more than one incursion from Como and fought numerous naval battles against this intrusive neighbour. It was in this period that the Bellagio’s shipyards invented the “Schifo” a battlecraft that for the anti-Como league had the same role as the “Carroccio”: a battleship which carried the best soldiers, the altar, the flag and offered refuge to the wounded. It was only in 1154, under Frederick Barbarossa, that Bellagio was forced to swear loyalty and pay a tribute to Como.

This medieval story of domination and defence of its own independence is still reflected even today in the frequently strained relations between Como and Bellagio.

For the entire period of the Middle Ages Bellagio’s castle functioned as an observation point and refuge for the town’s inhabitants when persecuted, in particular by Como.

Towards the end of the 13th Century, Bellagio (which had participated in numerous wars, allies of the “Ghibellines” - pro-Empire party) became part of the Viscontis’ property and was integrated into the Dukedom of Milan.

The defence of the lake was entrusted to a “Capitano del Lario” with headquarters in Bellagio. He had at his disposal two “correbiesse”, boats with more than 20 oarsmen and about 60 soldiers who had the function of chasing pirates and smugglers. A league known as the “Community of the Lands of the Lake” was formed. It was in favour of the common interests of the lake’s parishes and was under the protection of the Captain of the Lario, operating with increasing importance even in the years of the Sforza rule, when this family took possession of the Dukedom of Milan. During the course of the 15th Century, Bellagio hosted, amongst others, to Bartolomeo Colleoni and served as a refuge for Ludovico il Moro, hunted down by the troops of Louis XII of France.


Fresco in the castle of Melegnano (MI) which shows a naval battle around Bellagio between the Spanish troops and those of Medici
(Copyright 2005 - Photo by Adriano Carafòli; cortesy of Comune di Melegnano)

The Spanish domination - The Sfondrati family

The lake area was also involved in the 16th Century wars between the Venetians, the French, the Spanish, supporters of the Duke and supporters of the Emperor all of which were fighting for the possession of Lombardy.

When Francesco II Sforza, the last Duke of Milan, died in 1535, Lombardy and the Lake Como area underwent two centuries of hard times under Spanish domination. This is the period in which the famous Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni set the story of “I Promessi Sposi” (“The Betrothed”), his best known novel.

To this day, an important and picturesque construction from this arduous period can be seen in Bellagio - the flight of steps called “Derta” which lead from the hamlet of Guggiate to Suira.

In 1533, Francesco Sfondrati acquired Bellagio’s feudal territory and assumed the title of “Count of the Riviera”. For more than 200 years the Sfondrati family remained the most important reference point for Bellagio whose history, together with the progress and happenings of the town, were associated with this family.

It was during this period that, favoured by its ideal position for transport and trade, various small industries flourished: amongst others, particularly notable were candle-making and the silk industry (involving the breeding of silk worms and the cultivation of mulberry trees).


Francesco Sfondrati
Ercole Sfondrati

With the death of Carlo Sfondrati in 1788, the last Count of the Riviera, Bellagio passed to the hands of the nearby town of Asso and it was at this point that the illustrious Serbelloni family entered the town’s history. A certain Duke Alessandro Serbelloni was nominated heir to the Sfondrati family’s private possessions but not to their feudal rights.

The Nineteenth Century: the birth of tourism

During the brief Napoleonic period, Bellagio’s port assumed military and strategic importance. In fact in 1796 several gunboats were kept there under the command of Captain Giovan Battista Maurigi. They were responsible for provisions and to keep watch.

At the turn of the 19th century however, what seemed to be a relatively unimportant episode took place and it was to shape Bellagio’s fate for the following 200 years: Count Francesco Melzi, Duke of Lodi and Vice President of the Cisalpine Republic, chose to erect his summer home here. Count Melzi proceeded to build a magnificent villa on the west coast, near Loppia. This attracted the Milanese aristocracy to the area and Bellagio became the most elegant and refined of courts. Carriage roads were built connecting the villas and the palaces. Successively, carriage roads were built leading to the town centre followed by the completion of the provincial road linking the town of Erba to Bellagio.

Word soon spread and the fame of the small but splendid lakeside town became known across the borders of the Lombard-Venetia area: Even the Austrian Emperor, Francis I, wanted to visit in 1816. He was to return in 1825 staying in the Villas Serbelloni, Trotti and Melzi.

In 1838, Bellagio welcomed with all due pomp and ceremony, Emperor Ferdinand I, Archduke Ranieri and the Minister Metternich. They arrived here from Varenna on board the lake’s very first steamer, the “Lario”, launched in 1826.

From the end of the 18th century and for the following 100 years, Bellagio was one of the most popular “hotspots” for the Lombard aristocrats. These were the years that saw the construction of the villas and gardens which to this day are still the pride of the town and a major attraction for visitors. These palaces were visited and lived in by many famous names of the period, artists, politicians, royalty, intellectuals and scientists as well as various heroes of our Risorgimento, such as Pellico, Confalonieri and Maroncelli. Ippolito Nievo stated that he spent “beautiful, tranquil and romantic days” in the company of Countess Bice Melzi who inspired him create Pisana, the character who appears in his “Confessions of an Italian”.

The most famous guest of the century who left his mark in the heart of every mortal soul was the great musician Franz Liszt who spent his never-ending honeymoon here with Marie Cathèrine de Flavigny, Countess d’Agoult. To this day people still say (remembering this romantic love story) that nothing brings more luck to a marriage than a honeymoon in Bellagio.


A youthful portrait of Liszt

When Italy was united as a country, Bellagio, given its growing importance, was set up with all the required administrative offices: the Pretura (a type of magistrates court), barracks for the Carabinieri (military police force), customs, a communications cable, a post office and a bank. The many stables and cowsheds in town were replaced with luxurious shops and tourists began to fill the town. There was a need for more space and thus the decision was made to cover the old port which came up as far as the arcade so that a large square could be built. Tourism had now become the main source of economy for the people of Bellagio and from this period onwards, the history of Bellagio runs parallel to that of its hotels.


Albergo Bellagio was the first hotel in 1825, a converted old tavern that belonged to Abbondio Genazzini. After successive changes it was converted once again and became the first true hotel on the lake, the Hotel Genazzini. Following this pioneer’s footsteps, several hotels were founded within a few years. Many of them are still operating today and some of them are still run by the same families who founded them. A few names and opening dates: Hotel Firenze, built on the house of the Captain of the Lario in 1870 and Grand Hotel Bellagio (now Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni) inaugurated in 1872. In 1888, the three largest hotels (Genazzini, Grande Bretagne and Grand Hotel Bellagio) introduced electric lighting in place of gas. Only after this did many patrician homes follow.

Bellagio was one of the first Italian tourist resorts to become really international and never degenerated into a “tourism machine”. She preserved and maintains even today, that character of slightly shy discreetness which has made her become aristocratic without being haughty, simple but refined, informal, like a real lady.