The pleasures of Lake Como
In The Pleasure Garden (1925),
Alfred Hitchcock chose the shores of Lake Como for the honeymoon sequence between Virginia Valli, the mythical American actress of silent films, and Miles Mander. The director himself fell in love with the area and later returned to the area on vacation at the Villa d'Este, the beautiful centuries-old palace that was the setting for his film. Many icons of the 7th art also came to spend time at the Villa, including the iconic Orson Welles, actors and actresses Rita Hayworth, Robert De Niro, Geena Davis, Sharon Stone, George Clooney... The Charterhouse of Parma (1948) is adapted from Stendhal's novel of 1839, by the French Christian-Jaque. It is set after the Battle of Waterloo: after surviving the war, the main character Fabrizio del Dongo, played by Gérard Philippe, returns to the Castle of Grianta on Lake Como.
Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960) features a sequence in Bellagio, the busiest resort on Lake Como, located at the crossroads of the lake's three branches. Nadia and Simone, played by Annie Girardot and Renato Salvatori, stroll past the Hotel Grande Bretagne with envy. This is the only film that Visconti shot on Lake Como.Loves at Villa Balbianello
In 1995, John Irvin's Romance on the Lake, starring Uma Thurman and Vanessa Redgrave, also takes advantage of the romantic setting of Lake Como. Mrs Bentley's vacation is set in the famous Villa Balbianello in Lenno. This luxurious 18th century Renaissance villa, built on five levels with a panoramic view of the Alps from its belvedere, has been the setting for iconic franchises: Star Wars and James Bond
. In Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones, in 2002, George Lucas staged the wedding of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, played by Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman. Then it's Daniel Craig alias 007, and Eva Green alias Vesper Lynd, who stay in love at the villa after having undergone some torture, in Casino Royale in 2006, directed by Martin Campbell.Other lakes and other romances
Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore'sThe Correspondence
(2015) shows two islands: the island of San Giulio on Lake Orta, as well as the Fishermen's Island on Lake Maggiore. These settings are the setting for the passion between a young student played by Olga Kurylenko and her teacher, Jeremy Irons.Luca Guadagnino'sCall Me By Your
Name (2017) tells the story of Elio Perlman's awakening in love as a young middle-class man on a family vacation, played by French-American actor Timothée Chalamet, alongside Oliver, played by Armie Hammer, an attractive American doctoral student who comes to work with Elio's father. The film was shot around Crema, Moscazzano and Bergamo in Lombardy; it features the lovely Laghetto dei Riflessi (lake of reflections). As for the Netflix series Curon (2020), about a family curse, it was filmed around Lake Resia, in the South Tyrol region. This location features a perfect supernatural setting for this horrific drama: a submerged bell tower dating back to 1357. This is the last remnant of the old town of Curon Venosta, which sank under the water after the construction of a large hydroelectric dam in the 1950s.
