Hotel Passalacqua in Moltrasio on Lake Como took first place in the list of The World's 50 Best Hotels in 2023, a contest that compiles a ranking of the most renowned hotels on the planet based on their structure and services offered. Four other made-in-Italy properties are also on the list
Built on land originally owned by Pope Innocent XI, Villa Passalacqua on Lake Como was designed in the late 1700s by architects Felice Soave and Giocondo Albertolli. This spectacular period villa has hosted illustrious figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill and the composer Vincenzo Bellini, who made it his home here and wrote La Norma and La Sonnambula.
The hotel was reopened in June 2022 by the De Santis family, former owners of the Gran Hotel Tremazzo, has 24 rooms with spectacular gardens and terraces sloping down to the lake.
"Huge congratulations to Passalacqua on the No. 1 spot, just two years after opening. It is a true testament to the vision of the De Santis family, who created this sublime guest sanctuary with a scrupulous devotion to design details, refined hospitality and distinctive magic that has clearly left a lasting impression on our Academy of expert voters." These are the motivations behind the first prize according to the jury of 580 experts in the hotel industry.
There are four other Italian hotels in the ranking: the Four Seasons in Florence, the Aman in Venice, Borgo Egnazia in Savelletri (Brindisi) and the Sirenuse in Positano (Salerno).
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