Tremezzo
Lakeside olive terraces and a botanical villa garden, warmed by water into a pocket of subtropical bloom.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Tremezzo on Lake Como asks how an olive grove this far north, nearly the latitude of Montreal, has survived since Greek settlers planted it in the age of Julius Caesar. The answer starts with the lake itself, which absorbs summer heat and releases it through winter, keeping frost off this shore even when snow covers the peaks above. Locals call the strip the Zoca de l'oli, and one family press nearby has worked it since 1850. The same trick of water and warmth shaped a different story too, after an 1843 wedding gift turned a Prussian princess's villa into a garden where a plant-loving duke poured in rare specimens from around the world.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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