The Como Companion

Reopening of the Villa del Grumello and Villa Sucota Gardens.

Villa del Grumello These two villas on the road from Como to Cernobbio, owned by the Ratti Foundation, have glorious gardens with great views out to the lake and will be open again to the public from Sunday 10th April.

Lake Como does seem to go into hibernation over winter which can be a little disappointing for those visiting in February or early March but then suddenly, with the arrival of Spring, there is a glorious reawakening palpable in the many parks and gardens that surround the lake. Note in particular Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo and Villa Melzi at Bellagio, to mention two of the better known gardens.

For those of you who have never seen the parks of these two villas, be assured that a visit is well worthwhile and makes a great continuation to the Passeggiata on the lakefront to Villa Olmo. Cross the pedestrian bridge at the back of Villa Olmo and turn right into the grounds of Villa del Grumello.

For those who already know the villas, there are some excellent reasons for returning this year given that the park of Villa Sucota will be opened up for the first time. Additionally the Villa del Grumello gardens have been spruced up, more of the greenhouses have been renovated and various pieces of contemporary art have been distributed around the site.

Villa del Grumello gardens

The gardens are open free of charge on Sundays from 10th April from 10.00 – 18.00 and also throughout the month of August.

Planning Ahead

With Spring now well established and our centralised heating systems about to be turned off, we can definitely sense summer is just around the corner. Use the Como Companion to help plan your summer in Como. Check out our calendar so as not to miss out on key events. The calendar will be updated regularly as details of new events become available. Leave the cursor over each entry to get details on the event. You may also find more information in either the Culture or Recreation pages.

Vittorio Sgarbi, curator of ‘Incontri d’Arte’

However for now, let me put out a reminder for two immediate events. The first is the ‘Incontri d’Arte’ exhibition of 40 emerging Italian artists organised by the Platinum Collection and curated by the art critic Vittorio Sgarbi. This exhibition opens its doors on Friday 8th April, includes a presentation by Vittorio Sgarbi on Sunday 10th and then leaves doors open until 24th April. It is held in the ex-San Franciscan Church at Largo Spallino 1, (near the covered market) in Como.

The second event has in fact just started and is further afield – in Milan. It is the 21st Triennale di Milano International Design Exhibition whose exhibition and series of activities run from 2nd April until 12th September.

Here is their description of the exhibition:

The XXI Triennale di Milano International Exhibition has a vast program of exhibitions, events, competitions, festivals and meetings throughout the city, in venues ranging from La Triennale (Palazzo della Triennale) to the Fabbrica del Vapore, Pirelli HangarBicocca, the Politecnico di Milano campuses, the IULM campus, MUDEC, the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci”, BASE Milano, the Palazzo della Permanente, the Pirelli Tower, the Ex Expo Site, the Museo Diocesano, the Pirelli Foundation, the University of Milan, the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, the Triennale Expogate through to the Villa Reale in Monza, the historic site of the first International Exhibitions.

21st Century. Design After Design touches on key questions, such as the new dramatic art of design, which consists mainly in its ability to deal with those anthropological issues that classical modernity has excluded from its brief, such as death, the sacred, eros, destiny, traditions, and history; the issue of gender in design; the impact of globalization on design; the transformations brought about by the dawn of the twenty-first century and the crisis of 2008; the relationship between city and design; the relationship between design and the accessibility of new information technologies; and the relationship between design and craftsmanship.

The Design Museum is in Viale Allemagna 6, Milan. The exhibition is open from 10.30 – 20.30 from Tuesday to Sunday.