Lago di Como

Lago di Como a lake of glacial origin in Lombardia, Italy. It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe, and the deepest outside Norway. The bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres below sea level.

It has has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have had and have homes on the shores of the lake.

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter “Y”. The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como e Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio e Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a triangular boat service operates between them.

It is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded. The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area. Wikipedia

Menaggio