Belagio

 

Volta's original batteries

In the morning, I walked to the Porta Terra, the Tower gate used to defend the medieval walls. Along the walls was the Saturday market. I followed the walls back to the lake. Here is the Volta Temple celebrating the life of Alassandro Volta, inventor of the capacitor, numerous electrical instruments, and the first battery. Volta demonstrated his battery to Napolean in 1799 since Como was under French rule at the time.

The Mountain around Belagio

In the afternoon we took the ferry to Belagio, the “Pearl of the Lake”, which sits at the junction of the junction of the three arms of the Lake. During the 19^th century, as the middle class grew, Belagio became a tourist destination and many industrialists built Villas here. Our guide, Cat, was eager to take us on the 'choo choo train' to explore the town. I walked the gardens of the Villa Melzi. 

Gardens of Villa Melzi

The Florida Bald Cyprus provided a lot of color to the grounds. By walking the upper level of the town, we were treated the scenes of the Alps in the distance. We finished our day boating back to Como as the sun set.

"Star Wars" Villa along Lake Como