Bellezze Interiori Festival — The Secret Gardens of Como

A festival that opens Como's hidden doors

There is a Como that remains unseen when strolling along the lakefront or under the arcades of the city centre: it is the Como of secret gardens, private courtyards, ateliers, and urban vegetable patches that remain closed all year round. For one weekend in May, the Bellezze Interiori Festival opens them all, transforming the heart of Como into a route to be explored slowly, one door at a time.

Over twenty gardens, more than thirty events

The festival offers over 30 events spread over two days and organised into thematic routes. More than 20 private gardens and courtyards are exceptionally opened to the public: live concerts, guided tours, creative workshops, tastings, yoga sessions, and readings take place in spaces that hold stories, ancient trees, and surprising corners just a short walk from the busiest streets.

Technè: the art of craftsmanship

Each edition revolves around a theme. For the eighth edition, it is "Technè", the art of craftsmanship: a common thread linking craftsmanship, manual skills, and creativity, which dialogues with Como's industrial and silk history. Among the new features are routes dedicated to silk, such as "Silk in the city" at the Como Lake Hub, the Cou(L)ture Migrante atelier, and Fabrizio Bellanca's studio on Via Borgovico.

A social and participatory project

Bellezze Interiori is conceived and organised by the social cooperative Tikvà – Inclusive Territorial Economies, with the support of Fondazione Cariplo and the Fondazione Provinciale della Comunità Comasca, and the patronage of the Province of Como. Every year, the festival involves over a hundred under-18 students from various city schools, who participate in the planning and management of the events: not just a cultural review, but a community laboratory in the heart of Lombardy.

Como, city of silk and gardens

Included in the spring events calendar of the Municipality of Como, the capital of the homonymous Province in Lombardy, the festival enhances a widespread and private heritage that tells the city's identity: the villas, the noble courtyards, the textile tradition, and the Larian garden culture.