Lake Como has long enchanted travelers, poets, and writers with its serene waters, dramatic mountains, and picturesque villages. Over the centuries, many famous writers have visited or drawn inspiration from this landscape, leaving behind characters, poems, and reflections that are now known worldwide.
If you’re curious to see the places that stirred great minds, here’s a guide to the iconic literary spots around Lake Como.
Goethe and the romantic vision of Lake Como
In 1786, during his famous “Italian Journey,” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Lake Como and was deeply moved by its beauty. He wrote about the “calm grandeur” of the Lake and its “heavenly” surroundings.
Although Goethe’s stay was brief, his reflections contributed to Lake Como’s image as a place of idyllic beauty—a reputation that attracted countless travelers during the Romantic era, when the Country was already on the verge of popularity.
Suggested visit: Take a stroll along the lake promenade in Varenna or Bellagio, places that still offer the same peaceful vistas that charmed Goethe three centuries ago.
Alessandro Manzoni and the landscapes of “The Betrothed”
No name is more deeply tied to Lake Como than Alessandro Manzoni, the author of I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), one of Italy’s most important novels.
Manzoni spent part of his childhood in Lecco, and the landscapes of the area inspired many of the novel’s settings. The Azzone Visconti bridge, the Pescarenico district, and the rugged mountains around Lecco appear throughout the story of Renzo and Lucia, blending fiction with real places.
Suggested visit: Explore Lecco and its surroundings, and follow one of the local Manzonian itineraries to see firsthand the locations linked to the novel.
Stendhal and the emotional power of the Lake
The French writer Stendhal visited Lake Como multiple times and was so captivated by its atmosphere that he chose it as the setting for the opening of his novel La Certosa di Parma (The Charterhouse of Parma). The Lake appears in the very first pages, depicted as a place of elegance, nature, and nobility.
Suggested visit: Visit Villa Melzi in Bellagio, one of the spots that enchanted Stendhal with its gardens and views.
Mary Shelley and the gothic atmosphere of Lake Como
Mary Shelley, best known for Frankenstein, traveled through Lake Como during her Italian tour in 1840. While she was more associated with other parts of Italy for her writing, her journals record deep admiration for the “sublime” beauty of the Lake, which perfectly matched her interest in dramatic and mysterious landscapes.
Suggested visit: Take a trip to Vezio Castle, a medieval watchtower in Varenna inhabited by faceless ghosts statues that capture the same shifting moods of fear and admiration that Mary Shelley evokes in her writings.
Are you already picturing these beautiful atmospheres in your mind? Let us host you in one of our vacation homes: you’ll find that the magic that once moved writers like Goethe, Manzoni, and Shelley is still very much alive.
Staying in Varenna places you right in the heart of this literary landscape. Book your stay today and experience Lake Como through the eyes of its greatest admirers.