Mirroring the snow-covered Alps that surround them, the lakes of Lombardy are the first magic wonder welcoming to Italy the tourist who enters from the Simplon, St. Gothard or Spluga Passes through the mountains. The three largest lakes are Maggiore (82 sq. miles.), Como (56 sq. miles), and Garda (143 sq. miles). These, along with the smaller lakes, Orta, Iseo and Idro constitute a second Riviera of resorts with fine hotels and villas on their shores that provide a busy season of swimming, sailing, golf and tennis from early spring to the late mild autumn. Jewel-like smaller lakes scattered among the valleys of the Alps include Caldonazzo, Molveno, Levico, Carezza, Misurina and Santa Croce.
Boating, bathing and fishing are specialities of lakes in central and southern Italy: Trasimeno in Umbria, Bolsena, Bracciano, Nemi, Albano in Lazio; Lucrino and Fusaro near Naples; and Varano and Lesina in Apulia.