The Villa Passalacqua is one of the most luxurious villas on the shore of Lake Como, and it would make a sublime backdrop to anyone’s wedding. The villa’s origins lie in the 1700s when Count Andrea Passalacqua enlisted a masterful Swiss architect to create an opulent palace. And that’s exactly what he did, adding stunning frescoes, gardens, furnishings and statues to create a masterpiece of the Baroque era.
During the 18th century, the villa was decorated by Giocondo Albertolli, one of the finest ornamental stone masons of the age. And it was also home to the neoclassical painter Andrea Appiani, who became famous as the court painter to the Emperor Napoleon. You can still enjoy the works of these revered artists and they make an unrivalled backdrop to contemporary weddings.
We have used the villa as a setting for numerous Lake Como weddings with incredible results. For example, an Australian-French couple chose the Villa Passalacqua for a May wedding. We captured their party enjoying drinks by the lake in the villa’s gardens, standing on the balconies with the lakeshore in the background, and preparing for the wedding in the villa’s rooms.
The villa is large enough to accommodate parties of 30 or more, and we can take shots of guests as they arrive. And it’s also very close to lake towns like Mezzagra, where the churches are often used as part of the wedding day. You can mix up photographs of the reception and preparation at the villa itself, before moving to the church or the lake – creating a portfolio of memorable images which truly capture the magic of a wedding by the shores of Lake Como.
It’s also a wonderful place to spend time before and after the wedding. Everyone can reach the Villa Passalaqua easily thanks to nearby airports in Milan and Lugano, while the Lake Como region offers an endless array of beauty spots, water sports, golf courses and shopping opportunities (Milan is under an hour away). It all makes the villa a superb wedding venue.