Abbadia Lariana - Chiesa di San Bartolomeo (Church of San Bartolomeo)
At the foot of the hill at Castello stands the late 17th-century Church of San Bartolomeo, built on the site of an earlier edifice. On the hill, once the centre of the abbot's feudal territory, there...
Read moreAbbadia Lariana - Chiesa di San Lorenzo (Church of San Lorenzo)
The church overlooks the lake and has an interesting 17th-century wooden altar and frescoes by Luigi Tagliaferri.
Read moreAbbadia Lariana - Chiesa di San Martino (Church of San Martino)
the building is very old, as evidenced by the lancet windows and the gabled roof; the presbytery, with its cross-vaulted ceiling, was added in the 15th century and contains interesting paintings, incl...
Read moreAbbadia Lariana - Civico Museo Setificio Monti (Silk Museum)
In about 1818, Pietro Monti converted an old building for felting wool, along with the irrigation ditch and hydraulic wheel, into a silk spinning mill. In 1869 he extended the building and added a new...
Read moreAbbadia Lariana - Pozzo con affresco di Borbino (Well with fresco of Borbino)
The hamlet of Borbino, perched on the mountain of the same name, offers some interesting views of ancient buildings and the surrounding countryside.
Read moreBarna - Chiesa di Maria Maddalena (Church of Maria Maddalena)
The church stands in the beautiful square in the hamlet of Barna, where there is a fountain with four jets. Established as a parish church in 1636 when it broke away from Saint Fidelis (Plesio), it ha...
Read moreBellagio - Chiesa di San Giacomo (Church of San Giacomo)
The church of San Giacomo was built in the 12th century. It was extended in the Baroque period with a nave and two side aisles and the bell tower to the left of the facade. The three apses with double...
Read moreBellagio - Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of San Giovanni Battista)
Church of San Giovanni Battista is arguably the most beautiful in the whole of the Larian Triangle. It rises up from the lake, almost as if to underline the concept of purification through baptism per...
Read moreBellagio - Chiesa romanica di Santa Maria (Romanesque church of Santa Maria)
Located in the hamlet of Guggiate, the small church, known since 845, is a three-aisled building with a protruding transept and a semi-circular apse, partially unoriginal, dating from the 12th century...
Read moreBellagio - Punta spartivento
From Punta Spartivento, at the northernmost end of Bellagio, you can admire breathtaking views of the two arms of lake Como and the Alpine foothills: a splendid intermingling of water and mountains.
Read moreBellagio - Villa Melzi
The villa is right on the shore of the lake. Designed by the architect Giocondo Albertolli, it was built between 1808 and 1813 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Vice President of the Cisalpine Republic, th...
Read moreBellagio - Villa Serbelloni
Villa Serbelloni has an ancient history. Its grounds extend along the Bellagio headland, where Pliny the Younger is said to have owned a villa called Tragoedia. The original plan of the villa dates ba...
Read moreBellagio - Villa Trotti-Bentivoglio
The house already existed in the 1600s. In 1752 the Marquis Ludovico Trotti transformed it into a sumptuous villa surrounded by a magnificent Italian garden. The following century a descendent of the ...
Read moreBellano - Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso (Church of Santi Nazaro e Celso)
Built in the late Romanesque style, it has a black and white striped facade with ogival portals and a large rose window in enamelled terracotta. Restoration work was carried out between 1342 and 1350 ...
Read moreBellano - Chiesa di San Gottardo (Church of San Gottardo)
Situated in the hamlet of Oro, a locality known in the past for the production of raisin wine ("vino passito"); it is the patron of wanderers and was erected between 1569 and 1579.
Read moreBellano - Chiesa di san Rocco (Church of San Rocco)
Located next to the St. Rocco Bridge, the building houses valuable modern paintings by the artist Vitali, and since 1969, it has become a War Memorial.
Read moreBellano - Orrido di Bellano (natural gorge)
This is a natural gorge created by the Pioverna river that has cut out gigantic potholes and fascinating caverns over the centuries. Its dark ravines and the hollow rumble of gushing water have inspir...
Read moreBellano - Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime (Sanctuary of Madonna delle Lacrime)
The shrine, in the classical Baroque style, is set in a splendid position in the hamlet of Lezzeno. It was built in 1690 (possibly designed by the architect Quadrio), just two years after the miracle ...
Read moreBicogno - Masso Avello (rock)
Many such rocks have been found in this area, known as the Larian Triangle. They were hollowed out to form troughs; historians have recently discovered that they were used as individual or communal to...
Read moreBrivio - Castello (Castle)
Documents refer to the existence of a castle in this place since the 10th century, but the present castle is most probably a reconstruction of the previous fortress, carried out by the Visconti family...
Read moreBrunate - Chalet Sonzogno
This building was originally exhibited at the Turin Exposition in 1902. A couple of years later it was re-built in Brunate and offered as the prize for a lottery run by the 'Il Secolo' newspaper. Bu...
Read moreBrunate - Funicolare (Funicolar)
The impressive funicular starts from lakeside in Como (Piazza Alcide De Gasperi, not far from Piazza Cavour along lakefront). It runs up the tree-lined ridge of the mount (with the view of the entire ...
Read moreBrunate - Grand Hotel Milano
built around 1910 by Achille Manfredini to accommodate the élite tourists visiting the area. The building, in sumptuous style with large rooms overlooking the panorama, was the cradle of Como's high...
Read moreBrunate - Tre fontane (three fountains)
This is a public fountain with three mouths, built in the Thirties for an advertising campaign. It features a bass-relief and is engraved with the words 'Cordial Campari', a reference to the famous ...
Read moreBrunate - Villa Pirotta
The villa was designed in 1902 by the architect Federico Frigerio from Como, commissioned by a business magnate who wanted to create a miniature version of Versailles in the village. Numerous sculptor...
Read moreCalolziocorte - Monastery of Santa Maria del Lavello (Monastery of Santa Maria del Lavello)
The complex is one of the most important religious institutions in the Lecco area, located in a picturesque natural setting on the banks of the Adda River. It consists of the church and two main court...
Read moreCama - Chiesa parrocchiale di San Maurizio
First documented in 1219, the building as it stands today is in the Baroque style with a nave (possibly dating from 1611), barrel vault (around 1860), side chapels and bell tower (1656-62). The altars...
Read moreCama - Grotti di Cama
Old cellars at the lower edge of a chestnut grove: small rectangular stone buildings (17th-19th century) once used for storing wine and other kinds of food. The group of caves as they are today probab...
Read moreCampodolcino - Muvis, Museo della Via Spluga e della Val San Giacomo (ethnographic museum)
Entering the Museum is like taking a trip back in time: exhibits relate the story of lives of sacrifice which clearly hardened the people subject to them, existing with extraordinary dedication in the...
Read moreCasate - Piazzola del carretto
In the middle of the square there is a two-wheeled barrow which historians believe to be an underwater relic linked to an old furnace in the village in use until the Fifties.
Read moreCastaneda - Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Assunta (Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta)
Located in the village of Santa Maria, it was the mother church of Calanca. It is an important and significant sacred building of mediaeval origin, with precious furnishings: mentioned in 1219, it is ...
Read moreCastaneda - Chiesa parrocchiale di Santo Stefano (Parish Church of Santo Stefano)
First mentioned in 1544, the present building dates back to 1633. It was renovated and the nave and bell tower were added in 1932. Inside it houses a series of paintings from 1932 and, in the choir, a...
Read moreCazzanore - Villa Morselli
Due to its isolated position, just outside the hamlet of Cazzanore, this villa has always been known as "La Solitaria" (The Solitary). It was the home of the Italian dramatist Ercole Luigi Morselli ...
Read moreCentro Valle Intelvi - Baita e Bolla di Ermogna (Huts and bull of Ermogna)
Located in the small hamlet of Ermogna, this large natural basin has been adapted so that it can be used to collect rain water and serve as a drinking trough for animals. Near the farmhouse you can ju...
Read moreCentro Valle Intelvi - Museo di Erbonne (Museum of Erbonne)
A short deviation of about 3 km from the Prabello hut along stage 02 of the Via dei Monti Lariani leads to the village of Erbonne where you can visit a small museum housed in a financial police statio...
Read moreCernobbio - Chiesa di San Michele Rovenna (Church of San Michele Rovenna)
Saint Michael's parish church, of ancient origin, was rebuilt from scratch starting in 1667. The architectural style on the outside is extremely simple: the only ornamental part of the facade is the ...
Read moreCernobbio - Chiesa di San Nicola (Church of San Nicola)
The church of San Nicola of Casnedo, once also dedicated to San Carlo, stands on the site of an oratory named after the patron saint of Milan. It was dedicated to San Nicola because the inhabitants of...
Read moreCernobbio - Santuario della Beata Vergine del Monte Bisbino (Sanctuary of Beata Vergine del Monte Bisbino)
According to tradition, until the fourteenth century, the top of this mount was sharp. The shepherds would have flattened the top and used the rock to build a square and a chapel dedicated to the Vir...
Read moreCernobbio - Villa Erba
The villa, built in the opulent Mannerist style, is a large complex that includes the main house, built on a square plan, servants' quarters, guest apartments, greenhouses, a wet dock and stables. Lu...
Read moreChiavenna - Mulino Moro di Bottonera (Mill of Bottonera)
A rare example of industrial architecture. Situated in the old artisan district of Chiavenna, the Bottonera Mill is a fine and rare example of industrial architecture.
Now a museum, the building live...
Read moreChiavenna - Museo del tesoro (Treasure Museum)
The Treasure Museum is located inside the picturesque collegiate church of San Lorenzo, a complex dating back to the 5th century. The arcade was made between the 17th and 18th century with the aim of ...
Read moreChiavenna - Parco Paradiso e Museo archeologico (Botanical garden Paradiso and Archaeological Museum)
Botanical garden. The “Paradiso” is a luscious and extensive botanical garden which along with flora and fauna features some fascinating archaeological and historic phenomena and which affords som...
Read moreChiavenna - Riserva naturale Marmitte dei giganti (Marmitte dei Giganti nature reserve)
Today´s glaciers are just a modest reminder of those that periodically covered the alpine chain and all of Europa from 1 million years ago up until about 10 thousand years ago. The Park contains ma...
Read moreCodogna - Museo etnografico e naturalistico (Ethnographic and naturalistic museum)
The Museo Etnografico della Val Sanagra (Sanagra valley ethnographic museum) is housed in the splendid 18th-century town hall building called Villa Camozzi. Designed as a study centre for the valley, ...
Read moreColico - Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of San Rocco)
Next to the church there is a pleasant resting place with tables and stone benches surrounded by fields and chestnut groves. The Romanesque apse testifies to the church?s ancient origins. Some fairly ...
Read moreColico - Forte di Fuentes (Fort fo Fuentes)
Built in 1603 to defend the Duchy of Milan from its Grisonian enemies, it was named after the Spanish Governor Pedro Enriquez de Acevedo Count of Fuentes. It was erected in record time by the military...
Read moreColico - Forte Montecchio Nord (Fort of Montecchio Nord)
Colico was chosen as the site of this fort for its position at the end of the Tellina valley, a route traditionally used by invading armies. It was completed at the end of 1914 and was Italy?s most te...
Read moreColico - Torre di Fontanedo (Tower of Fontanedo)
The Tower of Fontanedo (approx. 550 m) near Fontanedo (hamlet of Colico) stands in a commanding position on the spur that descends from the northern slope of mount Legnone. It was built for protection...
Read moreColico - Torretta (Turret)
Picturesque rural farm building with a barbican, which proves that it was originally a fortification.
Read moreComo - Monumento ai caduti di Como (Monument to the fallen of Como)
This imposing 33-metre-high tower, designed by the famous rationalist architect Giuseppe Terragni, stands beside the small temple. The memorial contains the names of 650 fallen soldiers from Como duri...
Read moreComo - Tempietto Voltiano (small temple of Alessandro Volta))
Built in 1927 to celebrate the centenary of Alessandro Volta's death. The temple contains busts, bas-reliefs and memorabilia of the famous scientist and professor from Como.
Read moreComo - Villa Olmo
This is the most famous and sumptuous of Como's historical residences: it was built between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century by the architect Simone Cantoni. Passed from one ...
Read moreCorenno Plinio - Castello e borgo medievale (Castle and medieval hamlet)
The hamlet of Corenno Plinio is one of the most characteristic corners of lake Como. This place is imbued with history and it is still easy to imagine what life on the lake was like in the Middle Ages...
Read moreCornate d'Adda - Centrale Bertini (Bertini power plant)
The history of the Adda River can also be told through industrial archaeology. The Porto d'Adda power plants are two examples of Edison's first settlements along the river located in Lombardy. The B...
Read moreCornate d'Adda - Centrale Esterle (Esterle power plant)
The Esterle power plant, built in 1914, is dedicated to the memory of Carlo Esterle, managing director of the Edison Company. This extraordinary building, reminiscent of the Lombard Renaissance, is al...
Read moreDascio - Sasso di Dascio (Stone of Dascio)
An impressive rocky buttress offering a splendid view of Pian di Spagna. The benches and the fountain undoubtedly invite you to take a short break; some explanatory panels help you to learn more about...
Read moreDervio - Chiesa dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta (Church of Santi Quirico and Giulitta)
The path follows the old National Road and leads to Villa di Dervio near the church of Saints Quiricus and Juliette. Built in the style of the 17th century, the church has a lovely Romanesque bell tow...
Read moreDervio - Monastero di San Clemente degli Umiliati (Monastery of San Clemente degli Umiliati)
This rural building was erected in the late 1200s to house the monks of the religious order of the 'Umiliati' (humbled). The order originated in Northern Italy in the 11th century, when certain nobl...
Read moreDervio - Torre del Castello di Orezia (Tower of Castle of Orezia)
Perched on a cliff overlooking the village, the castle of Orezia was built in the late Middle Ages to block the road to the Varrone valley. The tower is still in good condition and is flanked by the r...
Read moreDorio - Chiesa della Madonna dei Monti (Church of Madonna dei Monti)
The church stands in a solitary spot immediately after Perdonasco and Spares Mounts. These are two seasonal settlements (traditionally known as 'monti') that belong to the town of Dorio. The little ...
Read moreDorio - Chiesa di San Giorgio (Church of San Giorgio)
The church of San Giorgio, which already existed in 1412, became the parish church of Dorio in 1506. Inside there is a large fresco from 1492 depicting the Virgin Mary and Saints and a resplendent San...
Read moreDorio - Chiesa di San Rocco
La chiesa di San Rocco, situata su un balcone naturale a 484 m di altitudine, venne edificata nel 1848 con forme dell’edilizia minore barocca. Nel 1856, come ricorda la targa posta all’ingresso, g...
Read moreDosso del Liro - Museo del Dialetto (Museum of Dialect)
This museum was set up to catalogue, take a census and keep records of the dialects of the Alto (Upper) lake region, by gathering information and studying the history and evolution of these tongues.
Read moreEcomuseo Adda di Leonardo (Leonardo's Adda Eco museum)
The open-air Eco museum is a route consisting of 14 stations and 47 stops to discover Leonardo's footprints left in the area. The boundaries of the Eco museum, to be visited on foot or by bicycle, ar...
Read moreGarlate - Civico Museo della Seta Abegg (Silk Museum)
The Abegg Silk Museum is located in a spinning mill of eighteenth-century origin, on the shores of Garlate Lake, surrounded by a mulberry garden. It exhibits discoveries, inventions and machines for t...
Read moreGarzeno - Chiesa dei SS. Pietro e Paolo (Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo)
According to certain records the church already existed in 1172. Alterations were carried out in the 15th and 17th centuries and Bishop Ninguarda described it during his pastoral visits to the region....
Read moreGenico - Chiesa di San Pietro (Church of San Pietro)
Originally dating from the Early Middle Ages, this little church was almost entirely rebuilt in the Romanesque style. It stands on the Piano di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Plain) which affords some of ...
Read moreGittana - Parrocchiale e Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie (Parish and Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie)
The shrine stands in a scenic square with breathtaking views. The building, which stands apart from the present parish church, is now derelict. Rebuilt between 1620 and 1630, it is decorated with stuc...
Read moreGordona - Chiesa di San Martino (Church of San Martino)
This church houses one of the richest collections of silverware in the whole of the Chiavenna valley, mainly thanks to gifts by the people who emigrated to Naples and founded a society in 1540. The bu...
Read moreGordona - Chiesa di Santa Caterina (Church of Santa Caterina)
Can be reached by following the evocative 18th-century aedicule of a Via Crucis. The small building was connected to a castle that stood on the hill during the Middle Ages, and was later demolished by...
Read moreGordona - Ponte sul torrente Boggia e la Cappella omonima (bridge over the Boggia stream and the homonymous chapel)
Resting on a boulder and bearing engravings, one of which commemorates the visit of Archduke Ranieri, brother of Emperor Francis I of Austria, in 1816. The Boggia Bridge, commonly called "Roman" but...
Read moreGrandola e Uniti - Villa Bagatti Valsecchi
Villa Bagatti Valsecchi is located in Cardano, the lowest-lying hamlet in the municipality of Grandola ed Uniti. Although the village has retained its rural character, the many villas and opulent resi...
Read moreGrono - Cappella dell'oratorio di San Remigio (Chapel of the oratory of San Remigio)
The oratory, which stands alone on the left side of the valley, was first mentioned in 1219 and partially rebuilt in the 17th century. It comprises a small medieval hall with semicircular apse set in ...
Read moreGrono - Golena del Pascolet (Floodplain of Pascolet)
A 25-hectare floodplain area created by demolishing the river banks built at the beginning of the 20th century on both sides of the Moesa; the floodplain has become a forest reserve, a hunting lodge a...
Read moreGrono di Roveredo - Chiesa dei Santi Rocco e Sebastiano (Church of St. Rocco and St. Sebastiano)
A Baroque oratory (rebuilt in 1615, with additions and new furnishings from 1690-1715) set in a small square in the centre; on the façade there are paintings of the Nursing Madonna and the patron sai...
Read moreGrono di Roveredo - Chiesa parrocchiale di San Clemente (Parish Church of San Clemente)
Set above the village (first documented in 1219), it has a Romanesque bell tower on the north side and two 18th-century painted sundials (one with an allegory of death). Inside, the nave with painted ...
Read moreGrono di Roveredo - Ponte del Ram (Bridge of Ram)
Situated to the south of the village, at the entrance to the Calanca valley, there is an elegant twin-arch stone bridge over the abandoned bed of the river Calancasca. Extended in 1822 when the San Be...
Read moreGrono di Roveredo - Torre Fiorenzana (Fiorenzana Tower)
This 13th-century 4-storey dwelling tower was recorded in 1314 as being owned by the de Sacco family. It is thought to be the oldest building in Grono. The stone building on a square plan with reinfor...
Read moreGrono di Roveredo - Vecchia Birreria (Old Brewery)
Horizontal late-Neoclassical building (now a restaurant) along the cantonal road, with a tree-lined square and the tower of the former Tognola brewery.
Read moreIl Naviglio di Paderno
The Paderno Naviglio was built to overcome the non-navigable stretch of the Adda River and obtain continuity of navigation to Lake Como. The construction of the Paderno Naviglio began at the end of th...
Read moreIl Naviglio Martesana
The Martesana Naviglio was built in 1443 in response to a request to build a canal to take water from the Adda River in order to provide irrigation and driving force for the mills. In the 15th century...
Read moreImbersago - Traghetto di Leonardo (Leonardo's ferry)
It is not certain whether Leonardo da Vinci was the actual inventor of this type of ferry, which uses the river current to move; he certainly studied the course of the Adda River at length during the ...
Read moreLa palude di Brivio (The marsh in Brivio)
After exiting the small lake of Olginate, the Adda River takes a winding course and forms a meander whose bend, facing west, marks the boundary of a marshy area called Isola della Torre and Isolone de...
Read moreLecco - Palazzo delle Paure (Palace of Fears)
Built between 1902 and 1905, until 1964 it was the headquarters of the Finance office (“Intendenza di Finanza”), the land registry (“Catasto”) and the customs (“Dogana”), so it was given t...
Read moreLecco - Torre Viscontea (Visconti Tower)
This is the only part of the Visconti fortifications to have survived the demolition ordered at the end of the 18th century. The triangular-shaped fortified village was completely surrounded by defens...
Read moreLeggia - Chiesa parrocchiale dei santi Bernardo e Antonio abate (Parish Church of santi Bernardo e Antonio abate)
The church, first documented in 1419 and altered in the following two centuries, has a bell tower dating from the late Middle Ages, a Baroque belfry with skylight, painted by Francesco Antonio Giorgio...
Read moreLemna - Chiesa di San Giorgio (Church of San Giorgio)
There are two different schools of thought about the construction of this church: some claim it was built in the 18th century and others think it already existed in the mid-16th century. In any case, ...
Read moreLenno - Battistero San Giovanni Evangelista (baptistery of San Giovanni Evangelista)
To the left of Saint Stephen's parish church is the baptistery dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, dating from the second half of the 11th century. The exterior is simple and sombre, with a squar...
Read moreLenno - Chiesa di Sant'Andrea (Church of Sant'Andrea)
Since the beginning of the eleventh century, the architectural complex is composed of the church with a sacristy and the bell tower. The wall structures, in exposed stone, are characterized by element...
Read moreLenno - Chiesa di Santo Stefano (Church of Santo Stefano)
To the left of parish church of Santo Stefano is the baptistery dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, dating from the second half of the 11th century. The exterior is simple and sombre, with a squar...
Read moreLenno - Complesso Romanico di San Benedetto (Romanesque complex of St. Benedetto)
The church, with three aisles separated by pillars and three apses, was built around 1080. The monastery was completed around 1090. It was abandoned by the monks in 1298, which led to its slow but ine...
Read moreLenno - Villa Balbianello
This is without doubt one of the most scenic places on Lake Como, on the tip of the Dosso di Lavedo promontory. The late-Baroque villa was built for Cardinal Durini in the 18th century. The interior i...
Read moreLezzeno - Chiesa dei Santi Quirico e Giulietta (Church of Santi Quirico e Giulitta)
Lezzeno's main artistic attraction is the parish church of Santi Quirico and Giulitta. Behind and above the main altar is the impressive fresco by Giulio Quaglio (1712), the gifted artist from the In...
Read moreLezzeno - Grotta dei Bulberi (o Grotta Azzurra)
The water-level entrance to the Bulberi grotto, also known as the Azure grotto, is near the cliffs of Sassi Grosgalli (a name of Celtic origin), that fall sheer to the lake on the western side of the ...
Read moreLezzeno - Museo storico della nautica (Historical nautical museum)
The museum was set up by Cantieri Molinari, a renowned construction firm based in Como. It houses numerous wooden and fibreglass hull boats, the result of technical research and of the genius and pass...
Read moreLezzeno - Ponte del diavolo (Devil's Bridge)
At the side of road SS 583 between Bellagio and Lezzeno, the 'Ponte del Diavolo' (Devil's Bridge) stretches across a gorge in the dolomitic limestone rock of mount Nuvolone. The mysterious and somb...
Read moreLierna - Chiesetta dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro (Church of Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro)
Located in the ancient Borgo di Castello, dive into the maze of narrow streets and enjoy this "glimpse of the Middle Ages". All that remains of the old centre are the walls facing the lake and the s...
Read moreLivo - Chiesa di San Giacomo (Church of San Giacomo)
Rebuilt in the 15th century on the site of an existing edifice, the church boasts a magnificent apse with frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries and an attractive slender bell tower. The ogival int...
Read moreLivo - Ponte di Dangri (Bridge of Dangri)
The stone bridge in the small hamlet of Dangri crosses the Livio mountain stream
Read moreLostallo - Cappella di San Nicolao (chapel of San Nicolao)
Consecrated in 1611, it forms a charming Baroque ensemble with the former hospice; the murals on the outside (around 1611) have undergone major restoration work; inside there are 17th-century Baroque ...
Read moreLostallo - Cappella Madonna d'Aquate (Madonna d'Aquate Chapel)
At the northern exit of Lostallo, you pass the chapel. This votive chapel was built in 1704 by an emigrant from Lostallo, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary of Einsiedeln. It was converted into a mortua...
Read moreLostallo - Cascata Buffalora (Waterfall Buffalora)
The waterfall is visible on the right of the valley, near the restaurant of the same name and the cantonal road. When there is enough water, the Buffalora brook forms a foamy white cascade against a w...
Read moreLostallo - Centrale elettrica ELIN di Rura (ELIN power station in Rura)
This is an example of an industrial building of architectural importance: constructed by Giovanni Lombardi, to a project by Carlo Basilico (1956), it has a rectangular plan (1958), a fa?ade with an al...
Read moreLostallo - Chiesa di San Carlo (Church of St. Carlo)
A building with a rectangular choir, consecrated in 1633; it bears witness to the spread of devotion to Charles Borromeo, who had visited Mesolcina in 1583; on the choir vault, there are illusionist p...
Read moreLostallo - Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (Church of Santa Maria Assunta)
Small building with square choir, consecrated in 1609;
the extended gable roof forms an open gallery with two columns; 17th-century wall paintings and canvases.
Read moreLostallo - Chiesa parrocchiale di San Giorgio (Parish church of San Giorgio)
The church, built in 1639-56, stands in a commanding position overlooking the village and is built on a longitudinal plan. It is one of the very few Baroque churches in Grisons where the outside (with...
Read moreLostallo - Piazza della Centena (square)
Once a field, located at the south entrance to the village, the general meeting, with elective and legislative functions (Centena) of the Comungrande (the combined communities of Mesolcina and Calanca...
Read moreLostallo - Selva castanile (Chestnut forest)
A terraced chestnut occupies the hilly area between the Church of St. George and the Aquate Chapel forest with dry stonewalls of medieval origin. Thanks to important interventions of recovery (care of...
Read moreLostallo - Stalle di Cabié (Cabié stables)
Reached by crossing the countryside towards Cabbiolo, you can admire a group of 13 stables of great historical-cultural and landscape quality, forming a harmonious nucleus of rural buildings, included...
Read moreLostallo - Zona golenale Rosera (Rosera floodplain)
An area of 20 hectares has been revitalised since 1995 by removing the embankment on the right bank and lowering the ground by extracting inert materials. This has created a natural, wild space at the...
Read moreMandello del Lario - Chiesa della Madonna di Debbio (Church of Madonna di Debbio)
The picturesque little church of Our Lady at Debbio, originally dedicated to Santo Stefano, stands at the top of a flight of steps, surrounded by cypress and fir trees. Inside there is a fine painting...
Read moreMandello del Lario - Chiesa di San Giorgio (Church of San Giorgio)
The church is set in a small walled parvis, where you can stop for a rest and admire the view over Mandello and the lake. The marble holy water stoup dating from the 9th or 10th century is a clue to t...
Read moreMandello del Lario - Museo Moto Guzzi (Moto Guzzi museum)
The Moto Guzzi Museum is located in the factory in Mandello del Lario where the 'legendary' bikes have been built ever since 1921. All of its racers were made here up until 1957, when Guzzi stopped ...
Read moreMandello del Lario - Torre del Barbarossa (Tower of Barbarossa)
The tower testifies to the hospitality offered by the Mandelli family to the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1158. Built of limestone, it houses a museum founded by the Gruppo Amici di Maggiana...
Read moreMese - Museo del latte (Milk museum)
The building is located in the main street of the town center, via don Lucchinetti, at the intersection with via Piatti. The building, now site of the Library, in the past housed the dairy. On the bas...
Read moreMesocco - Castello di Mesocco (Castle of Mesocco)
The castle stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley. It was the main fortress of the Grisonians and one of the largest castle fortifications in Switzerland. Built in the Dark Ages, in was exte...
Read moreMesocco - Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of San Rocco)
This Baroque church, thought to have been built in the early 1500s, was a Capuchin hospice from 1668. It has two chapels (added in 1671) and some interesting paintings by Francesco Antonio Giorgioli.
Read moreMesocco - Chiesa di Santa Maria del Castello (Church of Santa Maria del Castello)
Romanesque building, mentioned in 1219, with rectangular nave and two apses; extended in 1627; six-storey Romanesque bell tower. It houses a notable collection of paintings (1459-1469), including a cy...
Read moreMesocco - Chiesa parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo (Parish church of Santi Pietro e Paolo)
Steps with the Stations of the Way of the Cross lead up to the parish church that stands on a spot with panoramic views. The earliest records date back to 1219, although the present building has a Bar...
Read moreMesocco - Ponte Purlingheni (Bridge of Purlingheni)
A few hundred metres below the former railway station, towards the hamlet of Benabbia, you will come across this single-arch stone bridge over a gorge created by the river Moesa. Much of the original ...
Read moreMolina - Chiesa di Sant'Antonio (Church of Sant'Antonio)
Located in a small village centre, characterised by narrow alleys, porticoes and stairways, ideal for a short break, it is an 18th-century reconstruction of the original Romanesque building. Not to be...
Read moreMontemezzo - Chiesa parrocchiale Santi Martino e Giovanni Battista (Parish church of Santi Martino e Giovanni Battista)
The church, a real gem of the fifteenth century, is located in an extraordinary natural setting where you can practice activities such as trekking.
Read moreMusso - Chiesa di San Bernardo (Church of San Bernardo)
This recently renovated church stands in a commanding position opposite the rocky spur known as Sasso di Musso. It is a particularly scenic spot, with the Albano valley behind it and the elegant pyram...
Read moreNesso - Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo (Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo)
Although this church dates back to around the year 1000, we have no records of its activities for several centuries. The lakeside church was rebuilt in the early 17th century in the Baroque style. Som...
Read moreNesso - Chiesa di Santa Maria di Vico (Church of Santa Maria di Vico)
Santa Maria's church was built in the 13th century by the Order of the Umiliati (humbled), a religious order whose followers advocated a return to a more austere spirituality and a simple life. The c...
Read moreNesso - Orrido di Nesso (Natural gorge)
The picturesque gorge, at the outlet of the Tuf and Nosè valleys, is fed by the mountain streams of the same names which meet here in a deafening, spectacular foaming mass, plunging between the bare ...
Read moreNesso - Punta della Cavagnola
Punta della Cavagnola, in the municipality of Nesso, is the point where the long, looming ridge of mount San Primo, the highest peak in the Larian Triangle, meets the lake. To the south-east of Punta ...
Read moreNorantola di Cama - Castello di Norantola (Castle of Norantola)
The fortalice, mentioned in 1324 as part of the Sacco family estate, was acquired by the Trivulzio family in 1480 and then destroyed in 1483. All that remains today are a some ruins comprising irregul...
Read moreNorantola di Cama - Chiesa di San Lucio (Church of San Lucio)
The small building stands on a rise close to the castle ruins.
It has a square cross-vaulted choir and painted panels from a late-Gothic altar of the school of Ivo Srigel (1510).
Read moreNovate Mezzola - Chiesa di San Fedelino (Church of San Fedelino)
This small Romanesque architectural gem stands on the shore of lake Mezzola. The little oratory in its picturesque natural setting can be reached by boat from Scorico, Dascio and Novate Mezzola. The s...
Read moreNovate Mezzola - Mòt di Béch
This is an inlet in the northern part of lake Mezzola, close to the little church of San fedele (also known as San Fedelino). There is a small beach with a landing-stage. From above there are splendid...
Read moreNovate Mezzola - Ruins of two ancient limekilns
Just before reaching the small church of San Giovanni all'Archetto, you will come across some remains of natural ovens where the ore was baked to produce lime.
Read moreOssuccio - Sacro Monte di Ossuccio e Santuario della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (Sacred Mount of Ossuccio and Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso)
According to popular tradition, the beginning of the devotion to the Virgin Mary is linked to an ancient statue of Mary and an ancient painting. The statue, made of white marble and probably hidden i...
Read morePalanzo - Antico torchio da vino
Dating back to 1572. Legend tells that it was made from a walnut trunk and used on the same place where the tree had grown. Once the press was built, it was erected around the building that contains i...
Read morePalanzo - Chiesa dedicata a Sant'Ambrogio (Church dedicated to Sant'Ambrogio)
The village of Palanzo stands at the foot of mount Palanzone, which was once a busy pass offering an alternative route to the lakeside roads. In 1162 it was under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of...
Read morePalanzo - Forra del Gaggio
A little bridge spans a small ravine created by the mountain stream. On the rock surface you can see the flint limestone that forms the mountains in this region.
Read moreParco Adda Nord
The park includes the coastal territories of the Adda River, along the stretch that crosses the high valley, downstream of Como Lake, including the lakes of Garlate and Olginate. In this stretch, the ...
Read morePeglio - Chiesa della Madonna di Pian di Gorghiglio (Church of Madonna di Pian di Gorghiglio)
Standing on the plain between Peglio and Livo is the picturesque little 17th-century oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Pian Gorghiglio, built entirely of stone. From the oratory there is a road to the ...
Read morePian San Giacomo - Chiesetta di San Giacomo (Little church of St. James)
On the right side of the valley, mentioned since 1419. Simple longitudinal body with a bell gable transformed in 1683 and restored in 1961.
Read morePiantedo - Chiesa della Madonna di Valpozzo (Church of Madonna di Valpozzo)
This is a 19th-century church with a pronaos built in 1944 and sturdy bell tower. Next to the building is a war memorial to the martyrs of the Resistance movement, which was very active in this area.
Read morePoggio di Lanés
The location is impressive and offers a beautiful view of the villages of Roveredo and San Vittore and, on the opposite side, the view of the mountain ranges dominated by Pizzo di Claro, which separat...
Read morePognana Lario - Chiesa di San Miro di Rovasco (Church of San Miro di Rovasco)
It was built as a small Romanesque temple in the twelfth-thirteenth century and then its plan was modified in the middle of the fifteenth century. The very ancient bell tower, dated by experts around ...
Read morePognana Lario - Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of San Rocco)
The base of the magnificent bell tower of San Rocco parish church bears witness to its Romanesque origins. Originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the imposing facade was built in the 18th century. ...
Read morePonte San Michele di Paderno d'Adda (San Michele Bridge in Paderno d'Adda)
The San Michele Bridge is a steel viaduct with mixed railroad traffic that connects the towns of Paderno D'Adda and Calusco d'Adda. It was built between 1887 and 1889 to span 150 metres over a deep ...
Read moreProsto di Piuro - Palazzo Vertemate Franchi (Vertemate Franchi Palace)
A splendid monument to the Renaissance. Situated in Piuro, just a couple of kilometres outside Chiavenna, the mansion is a splendid monument to the Renaissance, located in a genuinely natural and ench...
Read moreRoveredo - Cappella di San Rocco (Chapel of San Rocco)
This chapel, in an isolated position on the hill of Carasole, has a nave with a flat ceiling and a cross-vaulted choir. Traces of a Last Supper of the school of Seregno (second half of the 15th centur...
Read moreRoveredo - Casa Tenchio (Tenchio House)
This early Baroque (mid-17th century) horseshoe-shaped building, built in the style of the Italian mansions at the time, is on the road in the old centre of Piazza. The facade overlooks the courtyard ...
Read moreRoveredo - Casa Zuccalli e Mazio (Zuccalli e Mazio House)
It comprises two of the most interesting dwellings: Casa Zuccalli (owned by the well-known family of builders in Austria and Bavaria) with a round arch portal with faceted ashlar and graffiti depictin...
Read moreRoveredo - Chiesa di San Fedele (Church of San Fedele)
Located in the homonymous hamlet, mentioned in 1419, enlarged in 1630, deconsecrated and emptied of its furnishings in 1911, after a long period of neglect it became a restoration workshop of the Univ...
Read moreRoveredo - Chiesa di Sant'Anna / Madonna del Ponte Chiuso (Church of Sant'Anna / Madonna del Ponte Chiuso)
This impressive and harmoniously proportioned Baroque construction is one of the most interesting in the Mesolcina valley. It forms a scenic entrance to the Traversagna valley against the backdrop of ...
Read moreRoveredo - Chiesa di Sant'Antonio abate (Church of Sant'Antonio abate)
The church is on the cantonal road in the old centre of Piazza. First documented in 1419 and extended in the 17th century, it is built on a plain longitudinal plan with a square choir. The hexagonal f...
Read moreRoveredo - Chiesa parrocchiale di San Giulio (Parish church of San Giulio)
This large medieval building (first mentioned in 1219) has an impressive post-Romanesque bell tower. Inside there is a Romanesque-Gothic polygonal choir (around 1300), flanked by side chapels entirely...
Read moreRoveredo - Palazzo Comacio (Comacio palace)
This impressive square building, arranged on three almost identical levels, was erected in around 1670 by Tommaso Comacio: it is possibly the only example of a civil engineering project designed and b...
Read moreRoveredo - Palazzo Trivulzio (Trivulzio Palace)
The first records date back to the early 14th century. It was originally owned by the Sacco family and then acquired by the Trivulzio family in 1480. All that remains of the fortified building on the ...
Read moreRoveredo - Torre di Boggiano (Tower of Boggiano)
This is an old medieval watchtower built in a commanding position on a rocky spur above the ravines of the Traversagna. From here there is a splendid view of much of the valley. The ruins of the four-...
Read moreSamolaco - Chiesa di San Giovanni all'Archetto (Church of San Giovanni all'Archetto)
One of the most important evidence of the ancient origins of Samolaco. The walls are largely buried by the debris carried by the nearby Casenda and Meriggiana streams, in memory of the numerous floods...
Read moreSamolaco - Chiesa di Sant'Andrea (Church of Sant'Andrea)
Located in Montenuovo, with a short deviation from stage 02 of the Via Francisca, we recommend you follow the Via Crucis to reach the Church of St Andrew in a short time (but uphill). The building, lo...
Read moreSamolaco - Resti della chiesa di Sant'Elena (Ruins of church of Sant'Elena)
On the edge of the hamlet there are the ruins of a little old church, of which you can see the apse with some frescoes.
Read moreSan Bernardino - Antica Fonte minerale (Ancient mineral fountain)
This building was erected in 1829 by Paolo Battaglia, a wealthy trader from Milan. A medallion above a mineral water drinking fountain commemorates Battaglia's work.
Read moreSan Bernardino - Cappella dell'oratorio di San Bernardino (Chapel of the oratory of San Bernardino)
This is a cube-shaped building with a square choir. It has a low bell tower with pyramidic roof and a vestry. Built between around 1450-67, it was renovated in the 17th and 18th centuries. It houses r...
Read moreSan Bernardino - Chiesa Rotonda (Round church)
This is a central-plan church with a drum dome; the impressive steps were built between 1867 and 1897 in the style of the church known as San Carlo al Corso in Milano. Inside, in the main niche there ...
Read moreSan Bernardino - Diga del Lago d’Isola (Lago d'Isola dam)
Just before reaching the village of San Bernardino, you will touch the lake, which has a capacity of 6.5 million cubic metres of water. The arched dam, 45 metres high, was built in 1960. The valley pa...
Read moreSan Bernardino - Hospice
On the pass, near Moesola Lake, today it houses a restaurant; it is a neoclassical construction in the form of a parallelepiped dating from 1824-25 with a pavilion roof, originally with a central driv...
Read moreSan Bernardino - Hotel Ravizza/National
The cube-shaped Neoclassical building with a hip roof was erected around the middle of the century; a plaque commemorates the fact that Cavour stayed here in 1858.
Read moreSan Bernardino - Lago Doss (Doss lake)
A round lake in a wide valley less than 2 km south of the village; the adjacent area is included in the inventory of peat bogs of national importance. Bathing is permitted here in summer season. As a ...
Read moreSan Fedele d'Intelvi - Chiesa Parrocchiale di Sant'Antonio (Parish church of Sant'Antonio)
The building has various elements that bear witness to its long history. The gabled facade has a well-preserved Romanesque portal, probably dating from the 12th century. The bell tower, the base of wh...
Read moreSan Pietro - Torre di Segname (Tower of Segname)
The tower is thought to date back to the 10th century, to the times of the Hungarian incursions. The name Segname derives from its function as a strategic location for sending signals in the valley (...
Read moreSan Pietro - Torre medioevale del Culumbèe (Medieval tower of Culumbèe)
The tower stands in the old centre of San Pietro, on the road leading to the church of the same name (Saint Peter's). To date we have no reliable historical or bibliographic records showing when the ...
Read moreSan Vittore - Cappella di San Lucio (Chapel of San Lucio)
This is the oldest building in the Mesolcina valley. It is the only one of its kind in the region and consists of a square oratory joined to a round one built on a rocky ridge beside the cantonal road...
Read moreSan Vittore - Collegiata dei santi Giovanni Battista e Vittore (Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista and San Vittore)
A small deviation from the original route of stage 01 in the Mesolcina Valley; this building was built as a hall church in the 13th century and was subject to major renovations in the early 16th and 1...
Read moreSan Vittore - Palazzo Viscardi (Viscardi Palace)
The building was erected next to the collegiate church in 1548 and altered between 1680 and 1700 by Giovanni Antonio Viscardi, architect at the court of the Bavarian electoral prince. Of noble proport...
Read moreSan Vittore - Torre di Pala (Tower of Pala)
Standing on a rock above the district of the same name, it was probably built at the end of the 1700s and extended in the following century. The six-storey rectangular building with battlements was pr...
Read moreSoazza - Cappella dell'oratorio della Madonna Addolorata (Chapel of the oratory of Madonna dell'Addolorata)
Baroque construction at the bottom of the steps leading up to the church of San Martino, altered in 1751.
Read moreSoazza - Casa Bianchini (Bianchini house)
Built partly of wood and partly of stone, this edifice has a wall painting in a stucco frame depicting San Floriano (1757) the, patron saint of chimney sweeps. Many of those who emigrated from Soazza ...
Read moreSoazza - Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of San Rocco)
The Baroque building (1633), on a longitudinal plan, is located in the centre of the village. The rectangular choir is decorated with rich stucco work (mid-17th century). The barrel-vaulted side chape...
Read moreSoazza - Chiesa parrocchiale di San Martino (Parish church of San Martino)
The hilltop parish church enjoys open views and is linked to the village and the oratory below by a long flight of steps. Registered in 1219, in 1626-39 it was transformed into a single hall church in...
Read moreSoazza - Former railway station
Enlarged and renovated, now houses the Cultural Centre. It includes a municipal and regional library and two small permanent exhibitions, one dedicated to wool processing and the other to soapstone (...
Read moreSoazza - Selve castanili di Mont Grand (Chestnut woods of Mont Grand)
A round trip of about 2 hours starts from the village and takes you through these chestnut woods of considerable environmental and scenic importance. The area is home to several monumental chestnut tr...
Read moreSoazza - The Roggia (irrigation ditch)
It runs down through the centre of the village and used to supply a dozen mills, a few lathes for processing soapstone, a forge and a crowd (buildings that have now disappeared or are used for other p...
Read moreSorico - Chiesa di Santo Stefano (Church of Santo Stefano)
Next to the church stands an imposing bell tower. Originally constructed in the Romanesque style, the Baroque tower that stands today was rebuilt in 1703. The signs of previous 15th-century alteration...
Read moreSorico - Chiesetta di San Miro (Little church of San Miro)
The little church offers panoramic views from its commanding position overlooking Sorico and the entire lake. Inside it houses the remains of the venerable hermit, who died at the end of the 14th cent...
Read moreSorico - Riserva naturale Pian di Spagna e Lago di Mezzola (Pian di Spagna and lake Mezzola Nature Reserve)
The 'Pian di Spagna' plain, a wetland of international importance, was primarily formed by extensive flooding of lake Mezzola. The landscape is dominated by reed thickets. There are also hardwood fo...
Read moreSorico - Torre Nuova di Sorico (Tower of Sorico)
We do not know the exact date of its construction, but historians agree that in the past it was used as a control and collection point for customs duties on the ancient Via Regina.
Read moreSuossa - Torbiera di Suossa (Suossa Peat Bog)
This peat bog, with a surface area of around 2.8 hectares, was created around 10,000 years ago by the silting up of a glacial basin. It is an extreme environment where animal and plant species have ad...
Read moreThe village of Crespi d'Adda
The village of Crespi d'Adda, founded by the cotton industrialist Cristoforo Benigno Crespi, who had recently built a modern cotton mill in the area, is an almost unique case in Italy of a village li...
Read moreTorno - Chiesa di San Giovanni (Church of San Giovanni)
This interesting church in the village was built in the 1300s. It has a beautiful Romanesque bell tower and decorated Renaissance door. The relic of a Holy Nail, said to have been used to crucify Chri...
Read moreTorno - Ponte sul vallone della Pliniana (Bridge over the valley of the Pliniana)
This bridge, with its stone parapet, is one of the best-preserved and oldest along the 'Strada Regia'. It is difficult to determine the exact date of this ancient construction, which was renovated i...
Read moreTorno - Sagrato della Chiesa di Santa Tecla (Churchyard of the Church of Santa Tecla)
The exact date of construction of this church is unknown. The present building dates from the end of the 15th century. The architectural lines of the facade, with the sculptured architrave surmounted ...
Read moreTrezzo sull'Adda - Centrale Idroelettrica Taccani (Taccani Hydroelectric Plant)
Since 1906, the bend of the Adda River below the cliff of the Visconti Castle in Trezzo has been home to the Taccani Hydroelectric Plant, designed by the architect Gaetano Moretti for the textile indu...
Read moreVaprio d'Adda - Casa del Custode delle Acque (House of the Water Guardian)
The House of the Water Guardian is located between the Martesana canal and the Adda River in Vaprio d'Adda. The basement houses the interactive gallery "Leonardo in Adda". Three rooms where it is p...
Read moreVaprio d'Adda - Chiesa di San Colombano (Church of San Colombano)
Some Columban monks, coming from Bobbio, revived, around 620, this castrum abandoned for years, transforming it into a monastic-rural settlement. The Romanesque church of St. Columbanus dates back to ...
Read moreVarenna - Baluardo (Bastion)
The Baluardo (Bastion) reminded a fortified castle built by the Sforza family during the Venetian wars and, today, it is a grassy area surrounded by cypress trees, with a fantastic view of the lake.
Read moreVarenna - Castello di Vezio (Castle of Vezio)
The picturesque construction is a typical example of a castle-enclosure with a separate central tower surrounded by a wall and several smaller towers. Its origin is not certain. Some scholars attribut...
Read moreVarenna - Cava bassa (Low quarry)
Along the Via alla Cava Bassa in Varenna there is a black marble quarry that was used at the time
of Maria Theresa of Austria.
Read moreVarenna - Chiesa di San Giorgio (Church of San Giorgio)
Built in the 14th century, it was restored in the 1950s. The facade is decorated with a 14th-century painting of Sa Cristoforp. Inside there are some late Romanesque and 15th-century frescoes, includi...
Read moreVarenna - Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of San Giovanni Battista)
The church stands alone in the main square; according to an inscription from 1750 it was extended in 1151 and consecrated in 1431. Some frescoes in the nave, thought to date from the 14th century, wer...
Read moreVarenna - Ex funicolare di Regoledo (Ex cable railway of Regoledo)
The path crosses the cutting where the old cable railway used to run, linking the Lecco to Sondrio railway line with Regoledo and, in particular, a hydrotherapy centre that opened there in 1858. Cesar...
Read moreVarenna - Sorgenti del Fiumelatte (Fiumelatte Springs)
Mentioned as "Fiumelaccio" by Leonardo da Vinci in the Codex Atlanticus, with a length of just 250 metres from source to mouth, it is among the shortest rivers in Europe and the second shortest in I...
Read moreVarenna - Villa Monastero
The old convent and patrician residence is now an internationally acclaimed Congress Centre. The gardens are full of exotic plants with statues, temples and balustrades. The villa, as its name indicat...
Read moreVerdabbio - Cappella dell'oratorio di Santa Maria Immacolata (Chapel of the oratory of Santa Maria Immacolata))
The building stands on a natural terrace in the middle of a chestnut wood, in the small rural community of Valdort (amidst houses, stables, utility buildings including a dilapidated mill).
Read moreVerdabbio - Chiesa parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Lorenzo (Parish church of Santi Pietro e Lorenzo)
First documented in 1219, the existing church is in the Baroque style (1668). Inside, the original 17th-century wooden ceiling of the nave, high altar with polychrome stucco decorations and superb pai...
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