Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como

The Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como, stands on the shore at Blevio around Villa Roccabruna.

This was the site of the villa of Giuditta Pasta, the soprano for whom Bellini wrote the title role of La sonnambula. The singer had it rebuilt between 1827 and 1829 by her uncle, the architect Filippo Ferranti, and Bellini was a frequent visitor. In 1904 the main villa was pulled down, and in its place the Wild family, industrialists from Turin, had Villa Roccabruna built to a design by the architect Carlo Formenti. In 2010, after restoration, Villa Roccabruna became the centre of a hotel, run since 2019 by the Mandarin Oriental group. From the lake you can still see part of the old park and one of the two guest houses of Giuditta Pasta's villa, which survives intact.