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 against incursions and to safeguard the important Scalottola route that skirted the base of the spur and linked Lecco with the Valtellina region. Part of this route coincides with the ‘Sentiero del Viandante’ (Wayfarers? Path). Nowadays the tower is overgrown and hardly visible, and it is hard to realise just how strategic its position was. It is thought to have been commissioned by Barnabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, in 1357, but it was probably the extension of an existing building. The tower is a typical example of a medieval defensive construction. Built of large stone ashlars, there are no openings on the ground floor, to keep the enemy out. The door (clearly visible in the first photo at the top) is on the first floor and could only be reached via a wooden ladder, which could be pulled up if necessary. Wood was also used for the inside: the truss that supported the floor is still visible around the inside edge of the walls (see second photo from top, where you can also make out one of the loopholes in the wall). A small fortified village grew up around the tower, with bake houses, stables, barns, a well and a chapel. Mule tracks linked it to Fontanedo and Colico.