Villa Donizetti - Lake Maggiore

Accommodates 10 — 5 Bedrooms — 3 Baths

We knew we loved this place when we learned that Donizetti, our absolute favorite opera composer, had owned it at some point during his lightning career. And some day, when we come here to stay, the first thing we’re going to listen to is Caballe’ singing that incredible aria “Com’e’ bello” from Lucrezia Borgia in her American debut at Carnegie Hall way back when.

Villa Donizetti is a beautiful old house situated below the road right on the northwest shore of Lago Maggiore. You just cannot get any closer to the lake than this. The views are glorious. The nearest town, Cannero Riviera, is simply delightful, with all shops, restaurants, and services, plus a year-round moderate microclimate tempered by mountains protecting from the wind. Vegetation is almost tropical, with many flowering shrubs, palms, and citrus trees. You can walk to Cannero easily from Villa Donizetti in about five minutes along a pleasant little pedestrian lane below the road and behind the properties fronting on the lake. An important thing to remember is that Cannero is a major stopping point for the boat services up and down the entire lake.

Parking? There’s a private 2-car garage up on the road, plus 3 private unenclosed parking spaces. The road is narrow and tricky, and so you’ve got to have nerves of steel, and preferably someone to get out and stop the traffic, to negotiate entry into the garage. This is no place for the timid, and no place to be learning how to use the stick shift on your rental car.

Once you’ve recovered from parking the car, you’ve then got to negotiate the path down to the place. The path is lined with beautiful evergreens, azaleas, and bamboo, but it’s also steeply stepped at points. It’s not for persons with infirmities or mobility problems of any sort.

Villa Donizetti is most definitely not a fancy house, and so if fancy is what you want please look elsewhere. What we’re talking about here is a comfy full-of-character lived-in home with a slightly faded, Art-Nouveau-type combination of Swiss chalet and Italian seaside villa in a splendid position right on the lake.

The house develops over four levels, with many of the rooms enjoying splendid views over the lake. On the ground floor are a living room with fireplace and non-satellite TV; separate smaller sitting room; dining room; country-style kitchen with dishwasher; and full bath with shower only. Outside, of course, you’re right at lake’s edge, and you’ll find a table big enough for alfresco dining and grassy area big enough for lounging and reading outdoors. Steps lead down to a little boat dock. The facade is covered with climbing jasmine and wisteria, and the splendid gardens contain, among many other plants, two centenarian camellias.

Up one level are two bedrooms, one with a bed about the size of an American double and one twin. Up again, two additional bedrooms, one with an Italian matrimonial bed, the other with two twin beds, plus two bathrooms with shower and shower-over-tub, respectively. Finally, on the top level of the house is a kind of attic suite with matrimonial bedroom and adjacent sitting area, plus the villa’s laundry room.

Housekeeping is included in the rental price twice during the week. There’s a phone to receive calls and make local outgoing calls. Otherwise, bring your own cell phone. There is, however, an internet connection.

So you can see: It’s a house where you’ve got to have flexibility with respect to a bedroom-and-bathroom arrangement that is far from ideal. Villa Donizetti works beautifully for an extended family; for two small families; for a group of adult friends. It works less well for a group of couples traveling together. If you want en-suite bathrooms, for example, forget it. Because of the special character of the house, no more than 3 children under 15 are permitted at any time.

Villa Donizetti makes an ideal spot to escape from the cares and troubles of our depressing world. Just a few miles south, for example, you’ll find the Riserva del Sacro Monte della Trinita’ di Ghiffa (www.sacromonteghiffa.it), a center for meditation and delightful hiking trails in the surrounding mountains and hills. Farther inland, the National Park of the Valgrande, one of Italy’s few true wildnernesses, offers a wonderful day’s hiking in gorgeous surroundings. Check out their excellent website in English at www.parcovalgrande.it.

Of course, you’ll want to go explore Stresa and to take the famous excursion out to the Borromean Islands, not to mention at least half a day at the Botanical Garden at Villa Taranto. You should also not miss a day at Lake Orta, including the village of Orta San Giulio and also the Isola San Giulio especially for lunch. Indeed, this entire area is full of first-class food in both luxury and more family-style surroundings.

And we’ve almost forgotten to mention the activities centered on the lake itself: sunbathing, swimming, waterskiing, windsurfing, sailing – you can find it all here. Plus, if you’re so inclined, tennis and golf.

We cannot recommend the Villa Donizetti highly enough. Take the limitations we’ve outlined above into serious consideration in your planning, and then call us – realize that if you want this house, you’ve got to plan way ahead of time. It’s very very popular.