Following three years of restoration, a new jewel opened last summer as a 24-suite retreat high above Italy’s famed Lake Como. Built on a site originally owned by Pope Innocent XI, Villa Passalacqua was constructed in the 18th century by Count Andrea Lucini Passalacqua. He employed architect Felice Soave and designer Giocondo Albertolli to create his vision of one of the largest and most spectacular villas on Lake Como. Villa Passalacqua radiates history, having hosted some of the world’s greatest minds in music, literature, art and politics from Napoleon Bonaparte to Winston Churchill. In 1829 Vincenzo Bellini made the villa his home and it was here that he composed two of his most famous operas, Norma and Sonnambula.

Today the Villa Passalacqua is the latest project of one of Italy’s leading hotelier families: Paolo, Antonella and Valentina De Santis, who also own the legendary Grand Hotel Tremezzo a little further north on Lake Como. The family’s goal was to revive the Villa and its ancient park with the love, respect and care they deserve, recreating the unique, enduring charm of ‘vivere italiano’. It is a place where guests can savour the art of the real ‘villeggiatura’ (a prolonged country retreat) and create new but authentic memories.

I immediately felt at ease after my arrival, experiencing genuine privacy and relaxation far away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day big city life. The staff provide impeccable and charmingly discreet service. No detail in the three component buildings - the Palazz, the Villa and the Casa Al Lago - has been overlooked. Every aspect has been selected and designed individually. No two suites are the same; frescos have been meticulously restored and concealed minibars created. Respect for heritage but with a focus on the future. The spectacular terraced gardens look out over Lake Como and are quite extraordinary with private hideaways and enchanting fountains.

The grandest rooms are in the villa and the pièce de résistance is the enormous and beautiful Suite Bellini with its double-height balustraded music room decorated with Albertolli frescoes where the composer produced great operatic works. Its expanse - a capacious 2,700 sq ft - is not unreasonably reflected in the price. The Casa Al Lago was built in the 1970s and incorporates a similar design concept to the Palazz: matching hand-painted silk wall hangings and bronze light fittings, hand-stencilled damask patterns, evocative antique etchings. And last but not least there is of course a delightful, dreamy, heated 20-metre pool — big enough for proper lap swimming — and tennis and bocce courts. There are magical outdoor dining spaces with breathtaking vistas over Lake Como. One night I was having a drink with an American guest and asked him what he particularly loved about Passalacqua. He told me, “This place is so special, it’s very intimate but in a lovely way. It’s not a place for millionaires but a place for billionaires” and laughed. I can definitely confirm that the De Santis family succeeded in letting me savour the art of the real ‘villeggiatura’!