Lake Como’s Hidden Luxury: Centuries-Old Craftsmanship

Lake Como is known for Riva boats, celebrity villas, and chic hotels, but its deeper draw may be the artisans keeping centuries-old trades alive. At the Rubelli mill, weaver Lorita Bellocco operates an 18th-century loom, pulling 800 spools of thread with surgical care. One six-meter piece takes her a full year to finish. Rubelli’s fabrics appear in Tiffany & Co. and La Scala, and the house has collaborated with designers like Gio Ponti and Ai Weiwei.

The region’s silk industry reportedly began when a 15th-century Milanese duke planted mulberry bushes along the lake. Today, houses like Mantero produce some of Europe’s best silk, with an archive of 75,000 fabric prints and 80,000 scarves, though its studios rarely open to visitors.

Hotels showcase local work. At Grand Hotel Tremezzo, owner Valentina De Santis uses Rubelli upholstery throughout and can arrange factory visits for guests. Her family’s Passalacqua property, opened in 2022 in an 18th-century villa, offers Mantero scarves with custom prints of the hotel’s history. De Santis calls these artisans “custodians of Italian traditions.”

This year, Como town gained Casabianca, a gallery-restaurant with art from the De Santis family collection—pieces by Anselm Kiefer and Marina Abramović among them. Local woodworkers Castiglioni restored the floors. Three suites above the gallery feature Gio Ponti taps and Rubelli wallpaper. Paolo De Santis, Valentina’s father, said the aim was “entering our home.”