The Villa Carlotta and The Villa d'Este

We woke up to a clear, bright sunshine sky today.  The haze has disappeared!  So we decided to see two villas in one day.
The first one was the Villa Carlotta.

It's a place of beauty, where nature and art live in harmony in over 70,000 square meters of garden and museum.  The villa was built at the end of the 17th century, facing the peninsula of Bellagio in Tremezzo.

The architect created for the Clerici's, a powerful family from Milan, an important building with gardens, sculptures, stairs and fountains.  It's really known for the grounds.  We bought a ticket that got us into both the Villa and the grounds.
First the grounds.  Map in hand, we turn to the right.  The flowers are at their height in April and May, but they were pretty spectacular today.

There were waterfalls and other water features.

There were forest areas and an enormous herb garden.

Next the elegant villa itself.  There were three stories of artwork, statues and gorgeous painted ceilings.

We were enchanted to see this beautiful villa.
The next villa was the incredible Villa d'Este, but this one has been converted into a hotel and for us it was a place for a late lunch.

This one was elegant from the front gate, to the massive dining room.  We were almost too late for lunch, but they let us come in anyway, and we were very honored to be able to dine there.
The villa was built in the second half of the sixteenth century for Tolemeo Gallio, the immensely rich and powerful "Cardinal of Como".  In 1873 it was converted into a luxury hotel and today it is among the most famous in the world.  Now guests pay for the exclusive hospitality.
We were treated to a fabulous lunch by Rick and Joy and the meal was supurb!  With all the elegance around us, we felt very special.

We had a nice white local wine and even a decadent dessert.

After lunch we walked these grounds too.  The finely manicured gardens reflected the maticulous care and pride they take in the hotel.

There was a "floating" swimming pool and boats the guests could rent.

Back inside we saw chandeliers and spacious game rooms for the guests to enjoy.

Joy and I would agree that even the bathrooms were the most elegant we've been in here in Italy!