COME HOME TO… THE ITALIAN LAKES

With a lakeside pied-à-terre on the shore of one of Lombardy’s beautiful lakes, you’ll be joining the ranks of the jet set. Gary Jones selects five desirable properties currently for sale.

In Italy’s financial centre Milan, in the affluent region of Lombardy where the country’s coronavirus outbreak started, the usually bustling streets are quiet. The city’s frequently dire air quality has improved but the people continue to frown on those venturing out after lockdown. Barely days go by without another apocalyptic il nuovo normale opinion piece in the Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper, as if there is no escape from contagion and fear. Just 70km to the north, nestled on glacial Lake Como and a stone’s throw from neighbouring Switzerland, cypress-filled Bellagio is frequently voted the prettiest town in Europe. Residents here awake to the peal of bells from the 11th-century Basilica di San Giacomo. And the lapping of waves. Songbirds twitter among vivid azaleas just outside sun-filled windows. Stepping on to their balconies, lakeside homeowners breathe crisp, clear air and enjoy views across crystal waters to snow-dusted pre-alpine foothills.

Italy’s rustic villages have been emptying for decades; the lure of metropolitan living and a falling national birth rate creating a demographic perfect storm. The trauma of the coronavirus lockdown, however, has seen increased interest from professionals seeking to escape the city into a rural idyll.

Italian politicians are hoping, in fact, that at least some of urban Italy’s hoi polloi might return to the country’s more than 2,000 semi-abandoned hamlets, and snap up the “fixer-uppers” that for years have only attracted foreign buyers as holiday homes, with properties occasionally going for as little as one euro.

Much of the big money in this newly predicted exodus, however, will likely flow to the Italian Lakes, which have long attracted the well-heeled and the connected from Italy and the world. Long before the bug sent us all running for the metaphorical hills, Italy’s gorgeous mountain lakes have attracted celebrities like George Clooney, Sting, Richard Branson, Madonna and Donatella Versace.

144 DOWN BY THE WATER

Looking on the map from west to east, Italy’s main lakes are Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo and Garda, spread across the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. While each lake has its unique character and attractions, they all boast a little of everything – pretty towns and villages with cobbled streets and a picturesque piazza, healthy lifestyles, to-die-for food and wine and, of course, stunning low-alpine scenery.

That hasn’t stopped commentators and marketers attempting to distinguish each lake. They say, for instance, that captivating Lake Orta is ideal for those looking for seclusion and romance, that Maggiore boasts lashings of old-world charm, while Garda, the largest of the lakes, is number one for the great outdoors and water sports (and wine).

Stylish Lake Como, of course, oozes glamour. It’s no coincidence that Clooney’s summer residence – 18th-century Villa Oleandra in serene Laglio – sits on its western shore. Gorgeous George regularly holidays here, sometimes in the company of other celebs. Recent signs are that their lakeside idylls might not be quite so exclusive in coming years.

At least partly due to the pandemic, in May, Sotheby’s International Realty opened an office at Lake Maggiore to accommodate rising demand, having previously handled inquiries from its office in Milan. “The requests for this area have significantly increased,” managing partner Lodovico Pignatti Morano told the Financial Times in early August.

According to Sotheby’s data, international buyers account for 65 per cent of the Lake Maggiore market, with most of those hailing from western and central Europe, and a fair share also from Russia. Wealthy Switzerland, after all, is just a short drive away from the lakes, while the German industrial powerhouse of Munich is a picturesque six-hour journey by car away.

Local demand for lakeside properties is rising, too, with requests from Italians growing an estimated 20 per cent in recent months. According to