9/30/2017 Lenno
In the morning we visited Villa del Balbianello, a famous villa built by an early 18th century bishop. The architecture of the buildings and views over Lake Como are incredibile.
Star Wars fans out there? Recognize the balcony? A pivotal event happend on the balcony. (Hint: Natalie Portman.)
One of the subsequent owners, an Englishman, removed the historic interior wood work and replaced it with 1970's paneling. An atrocity.
One of the subsequent owners, an Englishman, removed the historic interior wood work and replaced it with 1970's paneling. An atrocity.
The final owner, an Italian, gave the State the villa and funds to maintain it when he died. This was contingent on keeping his memorabilia from hiking to the North pole and climbing Mount Everest.
What a waste. Basically a shrine to a big ego.
What was most impressive was overhearing a not so private conversation between a wealthy young couple and the property manager discussing the 25,000 Euro cost to rent the property for a wedding. More info:
After the villa we decided to hike an ancient Roman stone road up to a monastery. The road became a very steep trail through brush. We saw an ancient fortification built of rock and mortar. The roof was long gone but the walls still stood.
The Roman era rock trails and roads were apparently built by Greek slaves 100 AD. The history is humbling.
"Rest and Pray"
After this hike we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, showered, and went to our local wine bar for a cheap glass of wine and bruschetta. After checking out all the wines over several days we found we liked the valpolicella wine the best.
