Villa San Giulio - Lake Orta

Accommodates 8+2 — 4+ Bedrooms — 4 Baths

We’ve been coming to Lago di Orta since 1985. It’s our favorite of all the Italian lakes. Sooooo charming. Its principal town, Orta San Giulio, is utterly captivating, one of our top-10 towns of this size in all Italy. The excursion to the little island of San Giulio in the middle of the lake is delightful. You can “do” all of Orta in a couple of days. And then, it’s an excellent base from which to explore the entire lake region, but especially the shores of Lake Maggiore: Stresa, Pallanza, Cannero Riviera, the Borromean Islands, Villa Taranto, the National Parks of the Valgrande and of the Ticino Valley. Not to mention the mountain peaks and valleys to the immediate west, including the Matterhorn. Plus: golf, tennis, watersports, hiking, climbing, ecoactivities, fine dining. You need more?

Our one offering on Orta, the Villa San Giulio, is quite special. We’d call it a “character villa”, not fancy but full of history, memories, good feelings. Comfortable, faded elegance is another way to put it. Antiques, beautiful old mirrors, book-lined walls, interesting paintings and ceramics – you get the picture.

Flowers, flowering trees and shrubs surround the villa, and a century-old wisteria greets you in the courtyard. On the ground floor you’ll find a matrimonial bedroom with its own bath (tub with telephone shower); laundry room; and storage. Upstairs, the main level of the villa contains the principal living quarters: a spacious sitting room with fireplace and French doors giving out onto a flower-filled balcony; breakfast room with table for 6; quite small but adequate kitchen with dishwasher and two fridges; study/single bedroom; matrimonial bedroom; and two baths, both with tub and hand-held shower. The balcony leads to a gorgeous outdoor patio which in effect becomes the summer living room, with sofas, armchairs, dining table seating 10, and a lovely view of the lake. Upstairs again, the master bedroom has windows framing another beautiful lake vista; its bathroom has a tub and separate stall shower. A pass-through bedroom containing a single bed and a crib leads into an under-the-eaves bedroom with joinable twins. Telephone for incoming and local outgoing calls, plus internet connection; hair dryer.

Villa San Giulio holds 10 persons comfortably, but it lacks a real indoor dining room, and the kitchen is small. Those factors need to be taken into account, especially if you’re into cooking, and if you’re going to be traveling in a season when the weather might not be perfect.

Villa San Giulio is above and overlooking the lake, it is not on the lake shore. A private, rather steep stepped path from the villa leads down to the lakeshore road. You then have to cross the road to reach the villa’s own little private dock where, via a ladder, there’s a rowboat you can use on lazy afternoons. Now, there are obviously things to keep in mind here: Children must be watched and helped across the road. And people with any physical mobility problem shouldn’t attempt either the path or the boat. It’s just too awkward.

On the other hand, the villa was partially adapted for use by the handicapped by its late owner who, when he became infirm, wanted to remain. There is an elevator connecting that ground-floor bedroom to the patio and the main level of the house. Garden paths (other than the one down to the lake) have no steps. But we’re not talking full wheelchair accessibility here; there are no grab-bars in the bathrooms. It’s just somewhat more handicapped-friendly than other similar homes.

So, in summary, what we’re talking about with Villa San Giulio is a romantic, panoramic lakeview villa with 3 matrimonial, 1 twin, and 2 single bedrooms, plus 4 baths. It’s great for extended family, two small families, or a group of adult friends. Bedrooms are far from equal, and bathroom positioning wasn’t planned with the Four Seasons in mind. So it’s not a home for you suburban Republican couples looking for en-suite bathroom facilities with 2000-watt makeup mirrors. Villa San Giulio is a large, unpretentious, lived-in home full of character in a splendid position on Orta, our favorite Italian lake.