Eating inTremezzina.

Tremezzina is a comune on the western shore of Lake Como, created in 2014 by merging Lenno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo. It faces east across the centre of the lake towards Bellagio.

Because it is a merger rather than a single village, addresses here are still commonly given by the old names, and property is still described as being at Lenno or at Tremezzo rather than in Tremezzina. That distinction is worth keeping, since the four parts of the coast behave quite differently.

Because the east-facing slope is warm and sheltered enough to grow azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons in quantity, and the nineteenth-century garden villas along this coast were planted accordingly.

The microclimate is a genuine effect of aspect and shelter rather than a piece of tourist branding, and it is also why the great botanical gardens of the lake, Villa Carlotta among them, are concentrated on this particular few kilometres of shoreline.

They exist, they are among the most sought-after properties on the lake, and they change hands rarely and usually privately.

Landing stages and boathouses on this shore are historic structures with established riparian arrangements; they cannot be created now, which is why the premium attaches to the house rather than to the view. If a boat is central to how you will live here, treat water access as a search criterion from the outset and expect to wait rather than to choose.

Quiet, and quieter than most first-time buyers expect. A good deal of the hospitality on this shore closes between November and March, and there is no single town centre that stays open.

If you plan to use a house through the winter, plan around Menaggio to the north and Como to the south for shops, services and somewhere to eat, and check the ferry and boat timetables for the winter service. The upside of the same fact is that the coast in February, with its empty road, empty gardens and low light on the water, is the version of it that owners tend to talk about most fondly.