Lake Como
Lombardy's deep lake below the Alps, its shores lined with historic villas and gardens, from Cernobbio to Bellagio.
The enclaves
The lake and the hills.
The shores of Lake Garda in Italy, and Beverly Hills with the hills and coast around it. Each enclave keeps its own streets, its own rules and its own kind of quiet.
Lake Garda · ItalyBeverly Hills to Malibu
Italy
Lake Garda
Italy's largest lake, held between Lombardy, the Veneto and Trentino, with mountains rising at its northern end and olive groves and vineyards running down to the water.
Sirmione and its castle sit on the southern peninsula. The lemon houses of Limone and the gardens of Gardone Riviera line the western shore, and Bardolino, Garda and Malcesine face them from the east, where Monte Baldo rises above the water.
Italy
Beyond the lake.
Waterfront villas and historic residences across Italy, from the northern lakes to the islands of the south.
Portofino
A small harbor village on the Ligurian coast, its painted houses curved around the water, east of Genoa.
Amalfi Coast and Sorrento
South of Naples, villages and lemon terraces cling to the cliffs above the sea, and Sorrento looks across the bay to Vesuvius.
Tuscany
Cypress lined roads, vineyards and stone villas in the hills between Florence and Siena, and the Val d'Orcia to the south.
Sicily
The largest island in the Mediterranean, from Taormina above the Ionian Sea to the baroque towns of the south east.
Sardinia
Clear water and white sand, from the Costa Smeralda in the north east to the quiet coves of the south.
California
Beverly Hills and Trousdale
South of Sunset, the Flats: wide streets under palms, deep lawns and the houses the city knows by sight. North of Sunset the estates sit behind hedges and gates, at the end of their own drives.
Above it all, Trousdale: mid century houses on the hill, glass turned toward the view, with the whole city laid out below at night.
California
Bel Air and Holmby Hills
West of Beverly Hills the gated roads climb the canyons, and the estates wait at the end of long private drives, some of them unseen from any street.
Between the two sits Holmby Hills, a quiet grid of large lots beside the country club, as private as the Westside gets.
California
Pacific Palisades
The bluffs above the Pacific Coast Highway, the Riviera and the Huntington, with village streets a few minutes from the ocean.
Homes here are chosen for mornings: the light off the water, the walk to the village, the hills at the back door.
California
Malibu
Point Dume, Carbon Beach, Broad Beach and the Colony: beach houses on the sand, with the ocean as the only neighbor on one side.
Behind them the canyons hold the estates, acres at a time, with the coast below and the quiet of the mountains above.
California
Santa Monica
North of Montana the streets are wide and shaded, a short walk from the ocean and the shops. Along the sand runs the Gold Coast, the houses that face the water directly.
Ocean Avenue and the bluffs end every day the same way, with the sun going into the sea.
California
The Hollywood Hills
The Bird Streets, Laurel Canyon and Outpost: houses hung on the hillside, reached by roads that curl up from the Strip.
From the terraces the whole city is below, from downtown to the ocean, which is the point of living here.
Los Angeles at golden hour
The whole city, from the hills.