Como, Maggiore, Garda … the names alone are enough to lull you into soporific bliss. The lure of Italy’s northern lakes was forged in Roman times and reinforced over centuries. Celebrities, cardinals and queens have had homes here. Artists from Turner to (Mary) Shelley have taken inspiration from their depths, and today we still make for the lakes in the hope that our stress levels will be stilled as calmly as those glacial waters.

Each lake has a different vibe and fanbase. Como, of course, is the daddy of all luxury retreats: a jagged lake directly north of Milan, shaped like a beehived woman mid-sprint. Here, the Alps squeeze the water as tightly as the hotels do your wallet. To the east, Lombardy melts into Veneto on buzzy Lake Garda.