In 1859, the Marquis Giorgio Raimondi decided to expand the existing Villa Flori and offer it as a wedding gift to his daughter Giuseppina and her groom, General Giuseppe Garibaldi, hero of the unification of Italy. The girl, who grew up in the Mazzinian milieu, had the task of transmitting messages to the patriots, and this is how she met Giuseppe Garibaldi, who fell in love with her at first sight. But it seems that the feeling wasn’t mutual, as the young woman preferred one of the General’s officers. Nevertheless, after an exchange of letters, the wedding was celebrated on 24 January 1860. As the story goes, after the ceremony, it was revealed to Garibaldi that young Giuseppina had previously enjoyed relations with other men, and the marriage was annulled the very same day. Indeed, you can still sense the aristocratic intrigue and romance in the atmosphere of Villa Flori, whose restaurant bears the name of its original owner.

The promise is already fulfilled when you enter the Villa Flori lobby, which welcomes you with ample windows overlooking the lake. Enjoy the spectacle: from the promontory of Torno to the dome of Como’s cathedral, from Blevio to Mount Brunate, where the famous Volta Lighthouse flashes on summer nights. But this eyeful of natural beauty is just a foretaste of what Villa Flori has in store for you: a vacation suspended in time, on the shore of the world’s most beautiful lake.