Villa Melzi Photo Session: Engagement Photos in Bellagio

A Villa Melzi photo session is a private portrait shoot in the Gardens of Villa Melzi in Bellagio, arranged in advance with the gardens' management for a daily photography fee. It works well for engagement photos, a proposal or portraits during your Lake Como wedding weekend. It is not a wedding venue: the gardens cannot be rented for weddings, ceremonies or parties, and the villa itself is private and not open to visitors.

If you came here looking for a ceremony location, our guide to what Villa Melzi allows and where to marry nearby covers the rules and the alternatives around Bellagio. This article is about the other side of the gardens: how to plan a session there and come home with photographs that feel like Lake Como rather than a busy day trip.

Konstantyn Zakhariy and Mariya Gritsak, a two photographer team based at Lake Como, photographed Christine and Brandon's engagement session in these gardens, and that session is the real example we return to below. You will find how the photography permit and fee work, why other visitors will always be around, which hours and months give the best light, the corners of the garden worth your time, and what to wear for a walk of almost a kilometre along the water.

The gardens lie on the lakeshore between Bellagio's historic centre and the hamlet of Loppia, about a ten minute walk from the ferry piers near Piazza Mazzini. They stretch for almost a kilometre along the water. Francesco Melzi d'Eril, vice president of Napoleon's Italian Republic, had the estate built between 1808 and 1810, and the park was laid out by the architect Luigi Canonica with the agronomist Luigi Villoresi as one of the first English style gardens on Lake Como.

At the Bellagio end of the gardens lies the Japanese style pond, a still water lily pool ringed by Japanese maples. It is one of the quietest corners of the garden: reflections, layered leaves and an enclosed feeling that suits close portraits. Along the shore runs an avenue of umbrella shaped plane trees, starting from the villa's boat dock. The avenue gives you shade, a strong leading line and the lake on one side, which is why it appears in Christine and Brandon's gallery.

The terrace in front of the villa has a stone balustrade and statues facing the lake, and it is where the classic Lake Como portrait happens: the two of you, the balustrade, open water and mountains behind. On the shoreline there is also a small Moorish style kiosk facing the lake, where Franz Liszt is said to have spent long hours. The orangery, which still keeps its seasonal role for the citrus plants, also houses the garden's museum. At the southern end, the neoclassical family chapel, completed in 1818 with a Doric portico in grey stone, closes the walk above the little square and harbour of Loppia.

Two rules shape every frame here. Walking on the lawns is not allowed, so portraits happen on the paths, terraces and steps rather than on the grass. And the villa is private, so the building appears as a backdrop from the garden, never as a place you enter. When you finish in the gardens, the Bellagio lakefront and old town lanes are a short walk away, and our guide to photographing Bellagio covers the spots worth adding before or after.

The gardens open for the season in late March, with no regular opening in winter, and in 2026 they close for the season on 1 November. During the main season the gates are open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, with last admission at 18:30. From 12 to 24 October closing moves to 18:30, and from 25 October to the end of the season the gardens close at 17:00. The photography booking form offers start times every half hour from 10:00 to 18:30, so in late October choose one that fits the shorter hours.

Those hours decide when soft light is available to you. By the calculated times for Bellagio, the sun sets after 21:00 around midsummer, more than two hours after the gates close, so a June or July session should take one of the last afternoon slots and, if you want the sunset itself, continue on the lakefront outside the gardens. In mid September sunset is around 19:35, about half an hour after closing time. By mid October it falls near 18:40, so the last hour of light sits almost entirely inside opening hours, which makes early and mid October the most generous window for golden light in the gardens. After the clocks change on 25 October the sun sets around 17:20, in step with the earlier closing.

Midday is the hardest time on the open terrace, where the light is flat and bright, but the plane tree avenue and the maples around the pond give shade through the middle of the day. For a summer session, start in the shade of the avenue and the pond and save the open terrace for the end of your slot, when the sun is lower.

Each season changes the palette. The historic camellias, about 250 plants across the estate, flower from February to April, so the first weeks of the season still have them. Large banks of azaleas and rhododendrons follow in April and May. Summer is deep green, with the plane trees in full leaf. In autumn the Japanese maples around the pond turn fiery red, while the rest of the park keeps its mix of redwoods, cedars, camphor trees and ginkgo.

Whatever the month, plan for company. The gardens do not reserve exclusive areas for shoots, and your session happens while visitors walk the same paths. A good photographer works with that: waiting for a gap on the avenue, choosing tighter angles at the pond, using longer lenses on the terrace so the people behind fall away. If an empty, private setting matters most to you, a villa you rent for the day is the better choice. The Gardens of Villa Melzi suit couples who want this particular place in their story.

A private session needs the gardens' agreement in advance. The request goes through the photography form on the official Giardini di Villa Melzi website, with your date and a time slot, and payment is made at the ticket office on the day or by bank transfer. At the time of writing the photography fee is around EUR 350 plus VAT per day, which includes the photographer's entry for the whole opening day. Confirm the current amount with the gardens before you plan around it. Each of you also needs the regular admission ticket, EUR 10 at the time of writing, and cancellations are not refunded.

The rules are short and firm. No decorations or setups, no drones, no musicians or officiants, and no reserved corners. The photographs are for your private use and personal social media, not for commercial publication. For a proposal, the photographer pays the fee in advance and collects the ticket at the entrance under their own name, so the person being surprised simply walks in as a visitor. Keep the plan simple: no signs or petals, just the right spot on the avenue or the terrace, and the ring.

For clothing, think about the walk and the setting. You will cover close to a kilometre of paths, with stone steps by the villa, so bring shoes you can walk in and change into heels only for the frames. Colours that sit well against deep green and pale stone work best: cream, white, soft neutrals or one rich tone. Our notes on what to wear for a Lake Como engagement session go deeper on fabrics and layering.

Christine and Brandon's engagement session at Villa Melzi shows how this comes together. The gallery pairs a ride on a wooden motorboat with a walk through the gardens, in two looks: relaxed cream and white on the water and under the plane trees, then a wine coloured satin slip dress and a black blazer for Christine, with a dark jacket and light trousers for Brandon, on the villa steps and along the stone balustrade by the lake. The same structure suits most couples: one relaxed look, one more polished, and two settings that tell different parts of the day.

Engagement and proposal sessions with Konstantyn and Mariya start from 1,800 EUR. Before the day we agree your slot, a route through the garden and, if you like, a boat ride or a second location in Bellagio. A session the day before or after a wedding elsewhere on the lake works well too, and our Lake Como engagement session guide covers other locations worth comparing. When you are ready, check your date with us and tell us which season you have in mind.

Can we get married or exchange vows in the Gardens of Villa Melzi?

No. The gardens cannot be rented for weddings, ceremonies or parties, and vow exchanges, officiants and musicians are not allowed. The villa is private and not open to visitors. You can marry at another venue on the lake and come here for portraits before or after the wedding day.

How much does the Villa Melzi photography permit cost?

At the time of writing the gardens quote around EUR 350 plus VAT per day for a private shoot, including the photographer's entry, plus the regular admission ticket for each of you. Confirm the current fee with the gardens when you book, and note that cancellations are not refunded.

Can we propose at Villa Melzi?

Yes, as a private photo session arranged in advance. The photographer pays beforehand and picks up the ticket at the entrance. Keep the moment simple, since decorations, setups and musicians are not permitted.

Will other visitors appear in our photos?

Other visitors will be in the gardens, because no area can be reserved for a shoot. We plan angles, timing and lens choice so the frames stay about the two of you, and quieter corners such as the pond help when the avenue is busy.

Can we use a drone or bring our dog?

Drones are not allowed in the gardens. Dogs are welcome on a leash and may even enter the museum and the chapel, so a session with your dog is possible.

When are the Gardens of Villa Melzi open?

The season runs from late March to the start of November (1 November in 2026), daily from 10:00 to 19:00, with earlier closing from mid October. There is no regular opening in winter, so a session there is a spring, summer or autumn plan.