THE HISTORY

It was about 1830 when the Bellini family decided to have a hotel built at Maiolica, one of Griante’s hamlets, on the bank of Lake Como. By that time, tourism at Cadenabbia, (another hamlet of Griante) was in full expansion and, because of the climate and of the beauty of the spot, it has become one of the most favoured resorts for British people, who chose to spent here their Summer holidays.

Thus, to pay homage to their British guests, but mainly to gratefully remember the owner’s long stay in London, the Bellinis decided to call the new hotel “London”. In 1878 Mrs. Giuseppina Bellini ordered a new dock (now embodied into the public garden in front of Hotel Riviera) and a garden by the lake (now parking area) to be built just before her Hotel.

With the increasing of tourism, the hotel grew larger and larger. Without any fear of being denied, it may be said  that almost all the very important people in the field of politics, art and music came to spend some times at one of Cadenabbia’s fashionable hotels from all over the world.

But in 1914, and for the long years of the first world war, tourism had a sharp stop. Being set on a border zone, this peaceful and quiet village was considered a battle front and so, on the mountains at the back of Griante, some trenches (which are still visible) were dug. Because of its position, the hotel was requisitioned by the army and turned into a head quarter and military hospital.

In 1919, when the war was over, British people came back to Cadenabbia; they opened their villas and the hotels started to host tourists and visitors again. During the following twenty years Cadenabbia and Tremezzina knew a period of great splendour. Meanwhile, many things had changed: Villa Carlotta had become property of the Italian Government as booty of war. It was opened to the public as a museum and its gardens, with the blooming of its azaleas, became a land mark and an attraction for tourists and travellers. The Hotel London was sold - first to Mr. Mella and then to Mr. Gandola – and its name was changed into Hotel Britannia, a name the new owners thought to be more suitable for its guests.

It might have been as well a consequence of the great depression of the early 1930s that Hotel Britannia had become property of the Bank “Cassa di Risparimio delle Province Lombarde”. Anyway, during the second World War the Bank transferred all its main and general offices from Milan to Hotel Britannia at Cadenabbia, where they thought to be safer than in town and, for sure, less exposed to the hammering bombing of Milan. Due to the Italian political situation, just before the second world war burst out, many British families sold their villas and tourists quit lake Como once again. With the capture of Mussolini at Dongo and his execution at Mezzegra (a village at three kilometres from Cadenabbia), after the dark years of the second world war and the troubled period of the civil war, towards the end of the 1940s, the hotels opened again to tourists. It was then a tourism for wealthy people and Hotel Britannia was restored to fulfil its guests requires to the extent that it could add Excelsior to its name. A boat house was built to shelter the boats at its guests disposition, and over its top it was arranged a “solarium” for sun bathing at leisure.

It was after the war that the hotel was bought by the Bramardi Family who enlarged it, added a swimming pool and run it till Mrs. Bramardi’s death in the 1990s, when the hotel passed on to Mr. B. Manzoni who, after a few years, sold it to the nowadays owners. The hotel has recently been restored and even today it is one of the British tourists’ favoured places where to spend a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.