Lake-side villa with fragrant gardens for Lake Como weddings

The building already appears on the Theresian land maps of the 1700s, and it has changed hands many times since. By the close of the 19th century it was a summer retreat for Milanese families. They came for the lake air and the rare plants in the garden. Further back Queen Teodolinda lived here between 589 and 616. The villa was restored and opened to guests in 2006.

Villa del Balbianello is 14 km up the shore, Villa Carlotta 17 km, and Bellagio sits 20 km around the headland. Cernobbio and its lakeside gardens are 9 km back toward Como, and Lugano is 40 km over the Swiss border. The villa's concierge arranges boats and motorboats, which is the better way to see any of it. We plan destination weddings across Italy, and here the day trips all start at your own dock.

Milan Malpensa is 64 road km away, a little over an hour by car. Lugano is closer at 43 km, though its flight list is short. Linate is 84 km and Bergamo 109 km. Trains reach Como San Giovanni, 14 km down the lake road, and the villa arranges drivers, taxis and boat transfers. Thirteen private parking spaces sit inside the gates, which helps on a road this narrow.

The six suites are on the upper two floors, and there's no lift. The gardens run over two levels linked by stone steps, with gravel and cobbled river stone underfoot. Once you're on the ceremony lawn or in the courtyard, each is level. Guests who'd rather skip the road can come in by boat, straight to the dock.

Six suites take the upper floors, all of them facing the lake, and together they sleep up to 25. The villa is hired exclusively, with a two-night minimum, so you have it to yourselves for the whole stay. Check-in is from 1pm and check-out by 11am. Breakfast is a buffet on the ground floor from 9 to 10.30, and an honesty bar runs from 8am to 11pm. That two-night shape is what our Italian wedding packages here are built around.

You can marry legally here. Laglio's council resolved to treat the villa as a municipal building for ceremonies. So the registrar comes to you, and only the town hall fee applies. Vows happen on the lawn at the water wall, or indoors in the Salone delle Feste. Either way, the ceremony seats up to 80. Our planner in Italy files the paperwork with the comune and holds the timings with the villa.

The garden runs over two levels down to the water. A paved courtyard sits in front of the villa's arched door, shaded by two sweet-olive trees. After dark they're wrapped in thousands of small lights. A lawn runs out to the lake wall and its mooring bollards, with the swimming pool alongside it. Steps and an iron gate lead down to the wooden dock.

Dinner usually happens outside. The courtyard takes about 60 seated, in one long table or a horseshoe, on cobbled river stone under the lit trees. Indoors, the Salone delle Feste runs along the ground floor in a rough horseshoe and seats up to 80. Its arched doors open straight onto the courtyard, so the two spaces work as one. Candles do most of the lighting once the sun drops behind the ridge.

Catering is Sunlake's, the villa's own kitchen, and outside caterers aren't taken on. A dedicated catering kitchen sits on site, so hot courses come out to the table. Menus lean on Italian regional cooking and whatever the season gives. A light lunch can be ordered the same morning, up to 10am, which helps on a setup day.

Music has two clocks here. Outdoors it runs until 8pm, and indoors until 11pm, after which it drops to background level. That shapes the evening nicely: ceremony and dinner in the garden, then the party moves inside. The floor in the Salone is where the dancing happens.

The villa is let as a whole for weddings, never by the room. That means one celebration at a time, the gardens and the dock included, with the suites upstairs for your closest people. The two-night minimum comes with it, so the day doesn't start with everyone arriving at once. It's still a village address, with neighbours either side and the lake's boat traffic passing, and that's part of what makes it feel like a house in Laglio.

The villa takes weddings from April to October, and May, June, September and early October are the kindest months. If rain comes, the Salone delle Feste seats the same 80 indoors, and the courtyard can be covered with a tensile structure. The two big trees and the parasols by the pool give shade through the hottest hours. The suites have air conditioning.