Lake Como
Four hundred metres deep, two arms, and the most photographed villas in Italy.
Como is shaped like an upturned Y: the Como arm and the Lecco arm divide at Bellagio, which sits exactly on the point. It is the deepest lake in Italy, over four hundred metres, and the steepest: the mountain drops into the water almost everywhere, which is why the shore road is narrow and the villages are small.
For campers that means two things. The first is that the sites are few and nearly all terraced, mostly on the upper lake towards Domaso and Gravedona, where the shore widens. The second is that the steady wind on the upper lake has made it a kitesurfing and sailing area.
The villas and the villages
Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo, Villa del Balbianello at Lenno, Villa Melzi at Bellagio: nineteenth-century gardens facing the water, and nearly all open to visitors. The villages to see are Varenna with its coloured stairways, Menaggio, Bellagio, and Como with its cathedral and the funicular to Brunate.
How to get around
By boat. The shore roads are narrow, often single-file through the tunnels, and jam in summer; the ferry between Varenna, Bellagio and Cadenabbia takes cars too. With a motorhome it is better to leave it at the site and travel by boat or train: the railway reaches Varenna and Colico.