Borgo Vico Como: The Villa Quarter and the Kilometre of Knowledge

The two parallel paths

Via Borgovico is the road. Official Provincia material spells it as one word when it describes Villa Saporiti and Villa Gallia, while Comune material for Villa del Grumello writes the quarter as Borgo Vico. Both names describe the same corridor. The villas stand between this road and the lake, and the waterside promenade in front of them is the Passeggiata Lino Gelpi. If you follow the water from the city centre, you are on the Gelpi.

Continuing past Villa Olmo the corridor becomes Via per Cernobbio. That is the road to Cernobbio, and it carries Villa del Grumello at number 11, Villa Sucota at number 19 and the Navigazione Lago di Como head office at number 18.

Viale Geno is on the other side of town

A common confusion, and one that sends people in the wrong direction. Viale Geno is the lakeside promenade on the opposite, eastern side of central Como, near the funicular station. It is not part of Borgo Vico and it does not lead to Villa Olmo.

If a map or a hotel note sends you to Viale Geno for the villa quarter, that is the wrong shore.

Getting there on foot

From the centre you reach the quarter along the lake, past the Tempio Voltiano and the Monumento ai Caduti. italia.it describes the lakeside route as taking in the city's most striking spots in just over half an hour, from Piazza Alessandro Volta all the way to Villa Olmo. In practice you simply walk out of the centre along the water, which we cover in more detail on our lakefront page. The whole corridor from Piazza Cavour to Cernobbio is also the subject of our Como to Cernobbio walk.

Villa Gallia and Villa Saporiti

Villa Gallia stands on Via Borgovico and was built in 1615 as a summer residence for Abbot Marco Gallio. Villa Saporiti next door was bought by the Provincia di Como in 1950 and became its institutional seat, and the Provincia later acquired Villa Gallia too. The two share a park.

Both serve as seats of the Province's institutional activities today, and both open to the public only on special occasions, for example the Ville Aperte events. No regular visiting hours exist. The practical consequence is that you admire the facades from the Passeggiata Lino Gelpi, and if a special opening happens to fall during your stay, it is a bonus rather than a plan.

Villa Olmo

Villa Olmo, at Via Simone Cantoni 1 at the end of the promenade, was designed by Simone Cantoni for the Odescalchi in the late 18th century, completed in 1812, and owned by the Comune since 1925. The building is currently closed for restoration. The Comune lists the work as including accessibility improvements, refurbishing the long-closed cafe, park pathway maintenance, restoring the monumental fountain and small temple, and converting the former caretaker's lodge into a visitor reception and bookshop.

The park remains regularly open and free, with access only partially suitable for reduced mobility. Entry to the villa when it is open has been free. For the full picture, see our Villa Olmo page.

Lido di Villa Olmo

At the north end of the Villa Olmo complex sits the lido, a lakeside bathing establishment. We found no verified official prices or hours for it, only secondary press reports flagged as subject to change, so we do not print figures. Check current details on our Lido di Villa Olmo page before going.

Hours along the path

The project is organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Como together with the Comune di Como, the Associazione Villa del Grumello and the Fondazione Antonio Ratti, along with other cultural institutions. One thing no official page publishes is a single set of opening hours or an entry fee for the connecting path itself. Each villa park publishes its own hours separately, and those are what govern your walk.

The practical reading of the table below is that the corridor is walkable when the parks at either end are open, and that Saturday is the day the middle of it shuts.

Villa Sucota is an 18th-century mansion on the western shore at Via per Cernobbio 19. Antonio Ratti created the Fondazione Antonio Ratti in Como in 1985 to house his textile collection, and since 2010 the foundation has been based at Villa Sucota. For a visitor this is a working study centre, not a walk-in museum.

The foundation's offices open Monday-Friday 9:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00 and close at weekends. Guided tours of the foundation run on request, Monday-Friday, for a minimum of 10 people. The library and the textile collection catalogue are consulted by appointment.

If you travel as a smaller group or alone, the realistic option is to enjoy the park corridor outside and treat an interior visit as something to arrange well ahead.

The Borgo Vico corridor holds two entries in the MICHELIN Guide 2026. Comi 107, at Via Borgo Vico 107, is in the selection without a distinction, listed as Contemporary with a Special occasion price band of three euro signs. The inspector describes a small contemporary restaurant near the lake at the entrance to a narrow street of shops, with a tiny outdoor space for summer.

Kitchen, at Via per Cernobbio 41/a, holds One MICHELIN Star in the MICHELIN Guide 2026, Italian Contemporary, in the Spare no expense band of four euro signs, set in the greenery of a private park with creative seasonal Italian cooking. Both sit directly on the corridor, so a meal can anchor a Borgo Vico walk. For cheaper and simpler options, see our where to eat page.

Three ways to spend the morning

Plan the walk around the Grumello hours, not around the villas. Villa Gallia and Villa Saporiti are closed most of the time, and the Villa Olmo building is under restoration, so the substance of the quarter is its parks and its lakefront. The Saturday closure at Villa del Grumello is the key trap, because Saturday is precisely when most visitors have time.

On a Saturday, plan the promenade and Villa Olmo park only, or shift the Kilometre to a weekday.