Filming an elopement at Villa Balbiano
Villa Balbiano sits on the western shore of Lake Como, in Ossuccio, between the Comacine Island and the wooded promontory that leads to Villa del Balbianello. We film here ourselves, most often for elopements rather than full wedding receptions — it's one of the private estates on the lake that works beautifully for a smaller, more intimate day, even though the property itself is built for scale. Here's what we know, both from being there ourselves and from planners who work this stretch of the lake regularly.
History and why it's become a premier venue
Villa Balbiano was built at the end of the 16th century by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio as his private residence. A century later, Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini enlarged and embellished it, using the villa to host the kind of festivals, banquets, and dances that made his household one of the more talked-about on the lake. Every owner since has added to it rather than let it fade — today it's the largest private residence on Lake Como, sitting on roughly two hectares of grounds, with interiors filled with objets d'art sourced from Sotheby's and Christie's and 17th-century frescoes by the Recchi brothers and Agostino Silva still intact on the walls. The garden has been recognized by the British Society of Garden Designers, and the six suites in the main palazzo were individually designed by Jacques Garcia.
In March 2021, Villa Balbiano became the filming location for Ridley Scott's House of Gucci, playing Aldo Gucci's lakeside residence — the scene where Patrizia Reggiani meets the Gucci family over lunch in the gardens was shot here. The villa's owner told Architectural Digest there's no real connection between the property and the Gucci family; the production simply wanted the best villa on the lake. That's roughly the same reputation it holds with wedding planners today.
Because Villa Balbiano is privately owned rather than managed by a heritage trust, couples get more flexibility here than at FAI-run properties nearby — later music, more freedom with décor and dinner setup, and a private pier and boathouse that make boat arrivals straightforward. Capacity runs up to around 200 guests for a three-day hire, or a more intimate 55 guests on a two-day booking.
What it looks like on film
The villa faces the lake from the western shore, so the golden hour light comes from across the water in the evening rather than raking directly off the façade — worth knowing if you want the classic backlit portrait by the pier rather than flat afternoon light on the front steps. The gardens descend in the formal Italian style toward the water, which gives a wedding film the same kind of unhurried, continuous walk-toward-the-lake shot we look for at any lakefront villa — the transition from ceremony space to view doesn't feel staged because the property was laid out that way two hundred years before drones existed.
The frescoed interiors give a completely different register for dinner and speeches: warm, dense, layered rooms that reward a slower, more intimate camera than the open lawns outside. And because the estate includes its own private pier, an arrival or departure by boat is genuinely part of the property rather than something arranged separately.
We filmed Xhenisa and Erald's elopement at Villa Balbiano, and the private pier and gardens are exactly why the property works so well for that format — a couple can have the villa's most cinematic corners largely to themselves, without the choreography a full guest list requires. We haven't yet covered a full wedding reception here, so the frescoed interiors above reflect what we know of the venue rather than our own dinner coverage — but the elopements we've filmed tell us everything we need to know about how the light and the pier behave through an afternoon.
Villa Balbiano vs Villa del Balbianello
These two villas sit almost next to each other on the same stretch of shoreline and get confused constantly, including by couples researching their own wedding. They are not the same property. Villa Balbiano is privately owned, hosts full dinner receptions, and allows significantly more flexibility around timing and suppliers. Villa del Balbianello is a FAI heritage site limited to ceremonies and short private events on a strict schedule — we film there regularly too. A little further along the lake in Cernobbio, Villa d'Este is a third option worth comparing if you're weighing a full wedding weekend against a more private day.
Planning an elopement at Villa Balbiano
Because most of our time at Villa Balbiano has been for elopements, here's what we'd actually tell you if you're planning one. Legal marriage paperwork for foreign nationals in Italy can take weeks to arrange, so most couples we work with here handle the legal side at home, or through a local comune with a planner's help, and treat the day at the villa as the symbolic one — vows, rings, and the film, without bureaucracy hanging over the afternoon. That frees up the schedule considerably: instead of racing a fixed ceremony window like at the FAI properties nearby, an elopement day at Villa Balbiano can move at its own pace, and we build coverage around the light rather than a locked-in slot.
The villa faces west, so an afternoon-into-evening timeline generally outperforms a morning one for the walk down to the pier — the last hour before sunset is when the water and the gardens do the most work for the camera. Late spring and early autumn tend to give the clearest light on this stretch of the lake, with fewer of the hazy, humid afternoons that July and August can bring.
FAQ
Is Villa Balbiano the same as Villa del Balbianello?
No — see the section above. They're separate properties a short distance apart on the same shore, with very different ownership and rules.
How many guests can Villa Balbiano host?
Up to around 200 guests on a three-day hire, or up to 55 guests on a shorter two-day booking.
Was Villa Balbiano really used in House of Gucci?
Yes. It was the filming location for Aldo Gucci's lakeside residence in Ridley Scott's 2021 film, and it also appears in other Lake Como-set productions.
Can you film a wedding here with a drone?
As a privately owned estate, Villa Balbiano generally allows more flexibility than FAI-managed properties, but drone use still needs to be coordinated with the venue and cleared under Italian aviation rules ahead of the day.
Is Villa Balbiano good for an elopement, not just a large wedding?
Yes — it's one of the venues we shoot most often for exactly that. The private pier, gardens, and pool give an elopement real cinematic range without needing a large guest list to fill the property.
Have you filmed here before?
Yes, though so far always for elopements rather than large wedding receptions — including Xhenisa and Erald's. If you're planning a full wedding at Villa Balbiano, we'd love to talk through how we'd approach your day specifically; the property is built for it even though our own time there has been on smaller, more intimate days.
Planning a wedding at Villa Balbiano or elsewhere on Lake Como? Get in touch and we'll help you think through timing, light, and what your film could look like. You can also browse our full body of work for more Lake Como films.
— Anton & Sabina
