Summer 2025 Guide to Lake Como's Cultural Gems

A guide to six non-mainstream cultural attractions on Lake Como for summer 2025. Highlights include the Fontana di Camerlata in Como, designed in the 1930s by Cesare Cattaneo with painter Mario Radice for the VI Triennale di Milano, now celebrated in a dedicated exhibition at Asilo Garbagnati in Cermenate. The FAI-managed Velarca, a houseboat designed by BBPR studio (architects of Milan's Torre Velasca) for the Norsa family in 1959, was relaunched in September 2024 after restoration. The Museo del Paesaggio del Lago di Como in Villa Mainona, Tremezzo, displays 16th-19th century prints and a multimedia section on cinema filmed on the lake, including Hitchcock's The Pleasure Garden (1925) and Star Wars Episode II. The Museo della barca lariana in Pianello del Lario, housed in a 19th-century silk mill, features hundreds of historic boats and a current exhibition on inventor Pietro Vassena, who set a world depth record in 1948 at -412 meters in his submarine C3. In Bellano, the BAC (Bellano Arte e Cultura) project offers a diffuse museum including the Giancarlo Vitali Museum in Palazzo Lorla, dedicated to the local painter and engraver. Finally, Spazio Officina in Chiasso presents a solo exhibition of Samuele Gabai (born 1949, Ligornetto), featuring around 100 works including paintings, graphics, and sculptures, on view until July 13, 2025.