Cadenabbia is the lakeside hamlet that is part of the town of Griante facing lake Como. The origin of the name seems to derive from a contraction of "Ca' dei Nauli", meaning "House of the boatmen". It is said that in ancient times there was a tavern where the boatmen (Nauli) used to stop, with their flat-bottomed cargo boats as a rest stop while transporting goods and commodities from Lecco and Como to the outlying towns

That tavern became the area's first touristic hotel in the early 1800s. For a long time Cadenabbia was one of the favorite destinations of of the English who settled here and started an English enclave that was large enough to build an Anglican Church. Consecrated in 1891, it was the first Anglican Church in Italy.

The lakeside resort is a lovely spot where the mountains descend to Lake Como, and it enjoys beautiful scenery. Mary Shelley visited the town and described it in her book, Rambles in Germany and Italy.

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