Rita Hayworth’s Lake Como escape

Following the success of 1946 film noir Gilda, Hollywood’s most glamorous actress, Rita Hayworth, headed to Lake Como to escape the paparazzi with her husband, the maverick actor and director Orson Welles. It was here, at the elegant time capsule retreat that is Villa d’ Este, that they found inspiration for their next project, The Lady of Shanghai. Welles had an urgent deadline of only a few weeks to turn around the screenplay for Columbia Studios; Hayworth was lined up to star. On one memorable occasion, while Welles was writing on his balcony, pages of the script blew into the lake – they were retrieved immediately by the hotel’s staff.

When they wanted to escape the pressures of work, the couple would go for day trips on a Riva yacht around the 30mile-wide Lake Como, which reflects the snow-capped peaks of the Italian Alps on its emerald-tinted glacial waters. Hayworth would dress for the occasion in chic palazzo pants, while Welles donned his trademark black cape and wide-brimmed hat. At night they would enjoy long, languid dinners at the Veranda Restaurant; Hayworth drinking her signature margaritas (rumored to be so-called after her real name, Margarita Cansino) by the water’s edge.

Villa d’Este continues to be the ultimate destination hotel in Italy, with the recent opening of its private 6-bedroom Villa Garravo, tucked away in the estate’s hanging gardens, and the ever-growing popularity of its Mid-Summer party, when the gardens along the lake come alive with music, dancing and fireworks. The glamour stakes have also been raised with last year’s launch of Design Hotel’s Il Sereno, with its 30 loft-style apartments, spa, private beach and saltwater infinity pool, as well as the reconfigured Villa Lario, a sprawling 19th-century villa that has been converted into six stylish suites.