TOGHRUL NABI
A couple on a jetty beside a water taxi, elsewhere on Lake Como (not at Villa Sola Cabiati)
Venue guide

A wedding at Villa Sola Cabiati, Tremezzo

Villa Sola Cabiati is a private villa on the Tremezzo shore, rented as a whole with its own staff, jetty and gardens facing Bellagio. Here is what is published about it, where the legal ceremony can happen, and how I would plan the light.

Check your dateSee real weddings
Toghrul NabiUpdated 2026-10-04

A Villa Sola Cabiati wedding is a house party more than an event: six suites, a butler and a private chef, gardens on the lake and Bellagio across the water. The villa is still owned by descendants of the Serbelloni family and is offered by the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, a kilometre away, as a full-service villa. Little is published about weddings there, so this guide sets out what the villa, its operator and the Comune di Tremezzina say, checked in October 2026, and what to ask. I am a wedding photographer and filmmaker and have not yet worked at Villa Sola Cabiati, so the photographs here come from my own weddings and sessions elsewhere on Lake Como.

What Villa Sola Cabiati is

The villa was built in the early 16th century for the del Carretto family, passed to the Brentano, and in the 18th century to the Dukes of Serbelloni. Duke Gabrio Serbelloni gave it its present form by adding two wings, and the villa then passed by marriage to the Counts Sola Cabiati, whose descendants still own it. Among its furnishings is a bed in which Napoleon and Josephine slept.

The villa today: suites, gardens and jetty

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo describes six suites, each with its own bathroom and sitting area, for 12 guests; a full staff with butler, housekeepers, maid and private chef; a pool in the park behind the villa; and arabesque gardens in front, "ideal for candlelit dinners". The villa has its own jetty. The historic houses association adds indoor parking, a helipad and a private mooring, and lists the villa for gala dinners, photo and film shoots and weddings, with stays of at least three nights in its Italian text.

What is not published: guest capacities for a ceremony or dinner, prices, and catering rules. Ask for all of it in writing, with your guest count, before you plan around the villa. The operator also markets the villa for autumn and winter, so the season is wider than the summer months.

Can you legally marry at Villa Sola Cabiati?

Possibly, but check. The Comune di Tremezzina's civil wedding regulation, last amended in 2021, lists "Villa la Quiete/Villa Sola Cabiati" among the places in Tremezzo where civil weddings may be celebrated. Its 2026 fee table and the new table from 1 January 2027, however, list other places and not this one. Before planning a legal ceremony at the villa, write to the Comune (matrimoni@comune.tremezzina.co.it) and ask whether it is available on your date.

Tremezzo has other authorised places close by. For non-residents in 2026 the Comune charges €1,800 at Villa Carlotta in the agreed hours (plus the villa's own fee), and €1,000 at the Museo del Paesaggio, the Torre di Rogaro and the Parco Teresio Olivelli in office hours. Apply at least 30 days ahead. A legal ceremony there in the morning and a symbolic one at Sola Cabiati in the afternoon is an easy day. My free guide to getting married in Italy explains the papers.

Ali and Zariyat walking hand in hand down a cobbled path beneath a cascade of pink flowers
Not Villa Sola Cabiati: Ali and Zariyat during their engagement session elsewhere on Lake Como. Spring gardens on the lake do half the work.

Getting there: boats, roads and airports

  • By boat: the villa has its own jetty; the hotel describes guests arriving by Riva motorboat in a few minutes along the Tremezzina. The nearest public landing is Tremezzo (Villa Carlotta), and the hotel puts Bellagio ten minutes away by boat.
  • By road: along Via Regina through Tremezzina; the villa is a kilometre by road from the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, which says it is an hour's drive from central Milan and its airports.
  • Airports: by my routing estimate, about 1 hour 20 from Milan Malpensa, 1 hour 30 from Linate and 1 hour 45 from Bergamo Orio al Serio, without traffic; summer weekends on the lake road are slower.
  • By air: a helipad, according to the historic houses association.
Daniel and Adekunbi on a wooden jetty between moored motorboats, with the lake and mountains under a blue sky
Not Villa Sola Cabiati: Daniel and Adekunbi on a jetty on their Lake Como wedding day. With a private jetty, the arrival becomes part of the story.

Photo, film and drone rules

Neither the villa nor the Comune publishes rules on photography, flash, drones, music or fireworks for Sola Cabiati. Because you rent the whole villa, the questions are practical: which rooms may be used for portraits, the end time for music, and whether a drone may fly. As a registered EU drone pilot I check the d-flight map for the day and never fly over guests gathered together.

Light: when to plan portraits

The villa looks east across the lake to Bellagio, with mountains rising behind it. Mornings are bright: by my calculation from the terrain, the sun is on the shore from about 6.20 am in June. In the evening it goes behind the mountains early, at about 6.55 pm in mid-May, 7.10 pm from mid-June to mid-July, 6.25 pm in mid-September and 5.50 pm in mid-October, two hours before sunset in June.

That gives two good windows. Late afternoon for portraits in the garden with direct sun, and the long soft hour after, when the garden is in shade and Bellagio, across the water, still glows. A boat out towards the middle of the lake meets the last direct light again.

Ali lifting Zariyat beside a stone balustrade with wrought-iron scrolls above Lake Como, in black and white
Ali and Zariyat during their engagement session on Lake Como. Black and white keeps the attention on the two of you.

Rain plan

None is published. Ask which rooms can hold the ceremony and dinner for your numbers, and where a marquee could stand. Lake Como is wetter than Turin in every month, so set a deadline for the decision.

A suggested Villa Sola Cabiati wedding weekend (June)

  1. Friday, 8.00 pm Welcome dinner by candlelight in the arabesque garden.
  2. Saturday, 11.00 am Civil ceremony at one of Tremezzo's authorised places.
  3. 3.00 pm Getting ready in the suites.
  4. 5.00 pm Symbolic ceremony in the garden.
  5. 5.45 pm Aperitivo; family photos.
  6. 6.15 pm Portraits in the garden while the sun is still on it.
  7. 7.15 pm A short boat ride from the jetty towards Bellagio.
  8. 8.15 pm Dinner in the garden.

Photographing and filming a Villa Sola Cabiati wedding: my plan

I photograph and film the day myself, on one timeline, as a quiet documentary presence. Every collection includes a pre-wedding consultation where we build the timeline around the light, choose photo spots and agree the rain plan, and I work directly with planners.

A villa like this makes a weekend, not a day, and the quiet moments count: breakfast with your families, getting ready in the suites, the walk down to the jetty. I would cover the parts that matter to you rather than every hour. For a larger celebration, a second photographer or videographer helps. See Daniel and Adekunbi's Lake Como wedding.

FAQ

Can you get legally married at Villa Sola Cabiati?

It is unclear. The Comune di Tremezzina's 2021 regulation lists the villa among its civil wedding places, but its 2026 and 2027 fee tables do not. Ask the Comune (matrimoni@comune.tremezzina.co.it) for your date. Tremezzo has other authorised places nearby, such as Villa Carlotta and the Museo del Paesaggio.

How many guests can Villa Sola Cabiati host?

The villa sleeps 12 guests in six suites. No capacity for a ceremony or dinner is published by the villa or its operator, so write to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo's events team with your guest count and ask for seated and standing numbers, indoors and out.

How much does a Villa Sola Cabiati wedding cost?

No prices are published. The villa is rented with its staff, and the historic houses association mentions a minimum stay of three nights, so the cost depends on nights and services. I send my photo and film collections and prices personally once I know your dates, with travel quoted separately; write to me.

How do guests reach Villa Sola Cabiati?

By boat to the villa's own jetty, or by road along the lake through Tremezzina; the Grand Hotel Tremezzo is a kilometre away. The nearest public landing is Tremezzo (Villa Carlotta), and Bellagio is about ten minutes by boat.

When is the best light for photos at Villa Sola Cabiati?

The garden faces east, so mornings are bright and the sun leaves early in the evening: by my calculation about 7.10 pm in June and 6.25 pm in mid-September. Plan garden portraits for the hour before that, then a boat for the last light.

Planning a wedding at Villa Sola Cabiati?

Tell me your dates and your plan for the weekend. I reply personally within a day or two, and we can talk it through on a free 20-minute video call in English, Italian, Russian, Turkish or Azerbaijani. Nearby, see my guides to Villa del Balbianello and Villa Balbiano, or all of Lake Como. Send me your date and venue.

Sources

Keep reading

Daniel and Adekunbi at a stone balustrade in Bellagio with the Alps behind themLake ComoWedding photographer on Lake Como: towns, ceremonies, boats and lightI photograph and film weddings, elopements and engagements on Lake Como. Here is what couples ask me first: which town, where a legal ceremony can happen, how to move by boat, and when the light is kindest.Two silhouettes against the glittering water of Lake Como (not at Villa del Balbianello)Venue guideA wedding at Villa del Balbianello, LennoVilla del Balbianello, owned by the FAI, hosts legal civil ceremonies and symbolic ones on its loggia, with dinners for up to 130 guests. Here is what the FAI and the Comune di Tremezzina publish, and how I would plan the light and the boats.A couple smiling on a Lake Como car ferry (not at Villa Balbiano)Venue guideA wedding at Villa Balbiano, OssuccioVilla Balbiano is a private villa on Lake Como, rented exclusively, where a legal civil ceremony is possible through the Comune di Tremezzina. Here is what is published, what is not, and how I would plan the light and the logistics.