File 009 · Lake Como, Italy

Villa del Balbianello

An explorer's villa on a wooded point of Lake Como, where Bond briefly considered giving it all up.

Why go

Built in 1787 on a former monastery. Its last owner, explorer Guido Monzino, left it to the nation with his polar and Everest collection.

The place

A cardinal's retreat

Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini built the villa in 1787 on the ruins of a 13th-century Franciscan monastery. The monks' church towers still stand on the point.

The explorer

In 1974 it was bought by Guido Monzino, a Milanese explorer who led 21 expeditions. He took Italians to the top of Everest in 1973 and reached the North Pole by dog sled in 1971.

A gift to the nation

Monzino died in 1988 and left the villa to FAI, Italy's National Trust. His maps, books, Inuit carvings and one of his polar sledges are still inside.

The shoot: Casino Royale (2006)

Bond recovers here after the poker game.

Recovery

In Casino Royale (2006), the villa plays the private clinic where Bond recovers after the poker game, and where he decides he might leave the service for Vesper.

A well-filmed garden

It was not its first starring role. The same loggia and lawns appear in Star Wars: Episode II (2002) and A Month by the Lake (1995).

Stand here

Climb to the loggia at the top of the garden and look out across the lake.

45.9654, 9.201

Visit

Best: Morning, before the boats arrive. Access: Ticketed. Closed some weekdays; check before going. Getting there: Water taxi from Lenno, or the footpath from Lenno on open days.

Taste: Risotto with lake perch (risotto con pesce persico) and missoltini, the lake's sun-dried shad.