20 Star Wars locations you can visit in real life

Lake Como, Italy

For all the prequels’ sins, one of the few things it got right was the opulence and splendor of the pre-Empire years. Tinged with a rosy tint of nostalgia, given that we all know what happens next, the utopian beauty of places like Naboo really stand out against the more unsettling places that the movie takes us in the original trilogy.

This is the truest of the lake retreat where Anakin and Senator Padmé Amidala go into hiding in Attack of the Clones. It’s easy to believe these two might fall in love in a place like this (even when Anakin is doing his worst flirting and complaining about sand, sigh).

The Villa del Balbainello in Lenno, Italy stands in for Padmé’s gorgeous lake house and is also the site of Anakin and Padmé’s wedding, for better or worse. It overlooks Lake Como, the third largest lake in Italy and one of the deepest lakes in Europe.

According to TripAdvisor, the villa itself was “is known for its picturesque gardens, which exclusively feature flowers and trees the colors of the Italian flag: green, white and red.”

It was built in the late 16th century and is only accessible by boat, no doubt making all passengers feel as special as Padmé when they get out at the dock and walk through the majestic wrought iron gates.

Good news for Padmé and Anakin shippers too — you can actually get married at the villa in real life! ItalianLakesWedding.com has some incredible tips on how to make the most of the villa. The only thing you have to do is make sure you’ve got “Across the Stars” ready to play on the loudspeaker.