Between the northern shores of Lake Como and the border of Switzerland is nestled lovely, marvelous Menaggio.

On a cool and cloudy July day we hopped a ferry from Bellagio, just across the lake, in search of the golf club, Menaggio and Cadenabbia Golf Club, which we found at the top of a steep, curvy road in the hills above town. After all, I had promised Daughter and Husband that this trip wouldn’t be all museums, churches and artwork.

Like everything we experienced in Lake Como, the course was something out of a fairy tale, with lush greens, rolling hills, fields and wildflowers. Even a strong summer rainstorm (un temporale) couldn’t dampen our good time, and Husband had a great round at this historic course, the second oldest golf club in Italy behind Rome’s Acquasanta Golf Club.

Above: I’m pretty sure this was just some sort of storage house for the course, but I was dreaming of how it would make the perfect little summer home or writer’s cottage (Husband could golf all day, I could write all day, Daughter could frolic in the fields — sounded like a pretty good happily ever after to me…)

Soon, we were soaked through from the rain and starting to get cold, so we turned in our clubs and found our way to the ristorante, where we warmed up with steaming plates of pasta.

Image Credit

Never one to miss a library, Daughter and I found this treasure tucked into the corner of the golf club:

Housed in these glass shelves is “an outstanding collection of writings on golf from around the world and throughout the ages, including commentaries, stories and histories of the game, it’s greatest players and courses. Menaggio and Cadenabbia Golf Club’s library is widely considered to be one of the foremost collections of golf publications in the world. At last count it comprises over 1200 volumes… the listings record volumes dating from 1682.” (source) Vecchi libri italiani – sì per favore! (Old Italian books — yes please!)

Down in the main section of town, we strolled the streets and enjoyed caffè, gelato, and people watching in the lovely, peaceful Piazza Garibaldi…

…and we made one quick visit into San Stefano church for a prayer and candle lighting.

We loved our day in Menaggio, and the more I think about it, the more I want to return one day! I highly recommend it for a day trip or even for a few days if visiting Lake Como is in your future.

Want to remember Menaggio? Pin this post!

This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.