Bellagio
Waterfront villa with boathouse
Nineteenth-century, usually with a garden running to the water and a darsena beneath. The scarcest category on the lake.
Lake Como.Privately.
The collective for people who live near, or love, Lake Como, and the property, boats, tables and trusted people that come with knowing it well.
01The idea
There has never beena club like this.
Lake Como has always had a network: the families, the boatmen, the builders, the agents who never advertise. It has never had a door. Como Private is the door: one collective for the people who live on the lake and the people who love it, and everything worth knowing between them.
02Private requests
What do you needon Lake Como?
Write it as you would say it. A house, a boat, a table, a builder, a week in July. There is no form to complete.
Property
Buying, selling, renting
The house
Staff, works, upkeep
On the water
Boats, moorings, transfers
The week
Tables, drivers, plans
03Off-market property
Not everything onLake Como isadvertised.
Some of the lakes most interesting properties change hands privately. Como Private connects qualified buyers with owners, advisers and selected agents before properties reach the wider market.
We do not publish listings. Houses are shown to members once a purchase is credible.
View private property
Fifty kilometres of shoreline. Perhaps two hundred houses that matter.
04The network
The peopleworth knowing.
Every firm and individual in the network has been used by us, by a member, or by both. We meet them, we check their work, and we remove them when the work slips. There is no advertising and there are no paid placements.
Property Management
9 firmsOpening, closing, staffing and everything between visits.
Architects
6 practicesIncluding two who work regularly on protected buildings.
Builders
11 firmsLake works, structural restoration and stonemasonry.
Interior Designers
7 studiosMilanese and English, and a few who work in both registers.
Gardeners
8 teamsTerraces, citrus, and gardens that predate the road.
Pool Specialists
4 firmsInstallation, seasonal maintenance and water treatment.
Private Chefs
14 cooksA single dinner, a week, or the whole summer.
Drivers
12 driversEnglish-speaking, discreet, and known to us personally.
Property Management9 firmsArchitects6 practicesBuilders11 firmsInterior Designers7 studiosGardeners8 teamsPool Specialists4 firmsPrivate Chefs14 cooksDrivers12 driversBoat Operators10 skippersLawyers5 firmsNotaries4 officesAccountants5 firmsSecurity3 firmsHousehold StaffPlacementClassic & Luxury Car HireSeasonal fleet
05Journal
The Como Journal
Property14 min
Buying Property on Lake Como as a Foreign Resident
Compromesso, rogito, codice fiscale and the four points at which foreign buyers usually lose time.
Architecture9 min
Inside the World of Lake Como's Historic Villas
What a Soprintendenza listing actually means for the person who owns the roof.
Boats8 min
The Riva Owner's Guide to Lake Como
Where to keep it, who should look after it, and why the winter matters more than the summer.
06Membership
Join thecollective.
Owners, buyers and the people who come back every year. What members get is the room and everyone in it, and one number to call when they need something on the lake.
The members' room
A private directory of members: who they are, what they do, and where they are on the lake.
Introductions, properly made
We ask both sides first. Nobody's details are published to the room.
Private property opportunities
Houses shown before they reach an agent, and some that never will.
Trusted local people
Architects, builders, lawyers and household staff we have worked with directly.
Priority requests
One request, answered by the right person rather than the nearest one.
Preferred partners
Terms held with boatyards, hotels, restaurants and drivers around the lake.
Private events
A small number each year: a garden, a house, a boat, forty people.
Members-only recommendations
What we would tell a friend, written down and kept current.
Every application is read by a person. Numbers are held deliberately low.