Only the freshest local provenance is used, prepared with a focus on local traditions. The Gourmet menu is only served at dinner, together with refined tasting menus that change seasonally. After delicious hors d’oeuvres of cod and potato soufflé, vegetable charcoal with goats cheese, and chocolate-covered fois gras on a fig leaf, we segued into starters, having opted for the intriguing à la carte menu.
My friend loved her beef tartare with mint, soft-smoked cheese, chamomile and edible silver, and I savoured my tangy goats’ cheese tart, adorned with pear mustard, raspberries and sesame seeds.
Our second courses comprised pasta stuffed with divine hare meat and almond butter with truffles. I also tasted my companion’s veal in potato crust, which was soft melt-in-your-mouth juicy and tender.
We needed a break before the mains: Seabass, scallop and squid with artichokes in a bagna caudal sauce. Absolutely sensational. As was my friend’s lamb loin with herbs, Cacio cheese and sea urchins. The wine list was superb with notable Italian and international varieties. Service was excellent: attentive without being intrusive.
We walked slowly around the moonlit gardens after our culinary feast… silently taking in the stars and the magical atmosphere. Looking up we saw the flashing lights of a distant UFO that added a special magic to this already Elysian scene.
I can imagine many guests remain at Casta Diva for the duration of their stay, such is the resort’s magnetic quality – but we were keen to explore Lake Como. Awaking on fine linen with a view to die for and a sumptuous al fresco breakfast overlooking the lake (does life get any better than this?) we headed early to Como for the speedy ferry to Bellagio. You can get a boat from Casta Diva’s own dock but the first departure was at 11 – a little late for our 9am sail.
You can buy a hop-on hop-off ticket for the boat (€30) which lasts the whole day. We disembarked at Menaggio, where we caught the car ferry to Varenna, before our final destination of Bellagio. Varenna is stunning. We explored her narrow, vertiginous streets up to the tourist information office on Via Novembre, then walked around nearby Hotel Villa Cipressi’s gorgeous botanical gardens. The enchanting terraced garden gradually descends towards the water, rich in flowers and plants, including wisteria, oleander, magnolia and cactus. The views of the lake – across to Bellagio –were beautiful – and it was here we met Gemma, co-owner of My Como Wedding.
“I got married here in Como,” she tells us. “My husband and I soon realised there was a gap in the market for good wedding planners. So we moved out here and started our own company.”
They have had clients who have also married at Casta Diva – surely the most splendid backdrop for any wedding. I make a mental note for when I find my Italian Count.
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