Outdoor Area

The Giants of the Lake

Three of Lake Como’s true highlights, which can now be viewed from above thanks to a new elevated walkway.

The outdoor area features impressive vessels that, in the last century, played a leading role in civilian transportation and commerce on the lake.
The Balilla, originally named Umberto I, was the first vessel to feature a single rear propeller at a time when boats were typically propelled by side oars.
The Giulia, one of the most impressive gondolas on Lake Como, built in 1929, was so sturdy that it was often used for livestock migrations.
The Freccia dei Gerani, the last hydrofoil in the RHS70 series, is a true jewel of Italian engineering.

Enrico Fornanini, the “Leonardo of the 20th century”

Few people know that our own Enrico Forlanini was the inventor of the hydrofoil, just as he was one of the early pioneers of airship flight. The story of Enrico Forlanini and hydrofoils, from the earliest experiments to the present day.
Forlanini’s life and the development of hydrofoils are chronicled inside the Freccia del Gerani, thanks to a project funded by the EUROPEAN UNION’S NEXT GENERATION EU program