• Lakes

Lago Maggiore Artist’s brushstrokes

A sixteenth-century country residence now owned by the Fai (Italian Environmental Fund) in Casalzuigno, Villa Della Porta Bozzolo has seen many changes over the centuries.

Especially interesting are the frescoed rooms with floral decorations covering doors, windows and furniture. Important rooms include the ballroom, the gallery, the two kitchens and the court of honour, their walls frescoed with rococo architecturalstyle
trompe l'oeil. The outbuildings used for agricultural work have also been preserved, where children can learn about tools from yesteryear—the great grape press, the oil mill and the icebox— and visit the areas used for production: the big cellar, stalls, tool store, wash house and spinning mill. Visitors must take a walk around the spectacular long Italian-style garden, which slopes upwards, at its top end offering a wonderful view of Valcuvia and the surrounding hills. For a more mystical experience, there is the Secret Garden, a secluded spot that naturally inspires meditation.

Art and industrial archaeology
The former furnaces in Parco di Caldè park in Castelveccana are evidence of an ancient artisan and industrial economy and are worth a visit. Partially in ruins, the plaster dropping off the walls shows evidence of the passing of time, even if some of these have become works of art thanks to the colours of the murals painted by a group of youngsters who have somehow taken in hand this disused heritage. All around, an as yet unspoilt environment, with views of the lake, tiny sheltered beaches and the mountain
looming in the distance. For those wanting to stretch their legs, a path leads to the small church of Santa Veronica in just a few minutes.

The painters' town
In the fifties, the town of Arcumeggia with the approval of its inhabitants, decided to put
the walls of most of the houses at the disposal of contemporary painters. The operation took almost twenty years and turned this village into a true open-air art gallery, with very technical frescos featuring the widest range of subjects. At the foot of Monte Nudo mountain, Arcumeggia is the starting point for a network of paths that take walkers throughout Valcuvia.

Monastery in the rock
Nestled against the mountain-side, with a sheer drop below to the lake, the Eremo di Santa Caterina del Sasso hermitage can be reached down steep steps from the group of houses above, with a lift dug out of the rock, or via the lake. Tradition has it that this place full of magic was founded in the twelfth century by the merchant Alberto Besozzi di Arolo, who, having survived a shipwreck, had a small church built and dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, to whom he had prayed in his moment of difficulty. In the centuries that followed, the complex was expanded by the monks who gradually settled here. Today the southern monastery can be visited, together with the small monastery with its seventeenthcentury fresco inspired by the Danse Macabre) and the church. A large number of pictorial cycles inside and outside the church walls cover a period from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century. The view out over the lake is unforgettable.

Flying off the mountain
Hair flying in the wind in the open cabin on the cable car or sheltered in the closed one. In just a quarter of an hour it takes visitors up from Laveno Mombello to Monte Sasso del Ferro mountain, at more than one thousand metres above sea level, looking out over Lake Maggiore and views of the Alps, the Pre-Alps, lakes Lugano and Varese, right across to the Po valley. Some take off from here with hang-gliders, others with paragliders. Expert instructors are on hand so that even complete beginners can enjoy this extraordinary experience.
 

 

5 reasons for

1. The International Museum of Ceramic Design, Cerro di Laveno Mombello. Hundreds of pieces of ceramic, from the Società Ceramica Italiana Richard-Ginori collection and donated by Scotti-Meregalli and Franco Revelli, are on show in sixteenth-century Palazzo Perabò. Artistic directors for this collection of ceramic in Laveno include Gio Ponti and Antonia Campi.

2. Church of Santa Maria in Ca’ Deserta, Laveno Mombello. Near to the cemetery, it was donated to the monastery in Cluny in the eleventh century. It has frescoed lunettes on its façade and inside the baroque wooden high altar is worth seeing.

3. Alfredo Binda Museum, Cittiglio. From his jerseys to the equipment he used, this museum dedicated to Binda by his home town also has the Legnano bikes from the 1930 and 1932 World Championships on show, together with documents and articles from newspapers at the time.

4. “Linea Cadorna” Document Centre, Cassano Valcuvia. Audio-visual and iconographic
material, interactive points and documents tell the history of the Northern Frontier defence line, namely the system of fortifications built along the Italian-Swiss border between 1915 and 1918. Visitors can walk in the trenches and tunnels cut out of the rock, from Ridotto di S. Giuseppe to Cassano Valcuvia.

5. Beach in Cerro. Going from the centre out towards the main church brings you to a small bay where there are also rocks.

On the same topic

Lemon Groves and Olive Oil in Limone del Garda

The small pearl of the Western Gardesana.
  • Lakes
Limonaie e Olio di oliva a Limone del Garda

Lago di Como: more than Manzoni

Together with Renzo and Lucia in the streets of Lecco. Then on to discover the eastern bank of the Como Lake. Start with Varenna
  • Lakes
Lago di Como: Manzoni ma non solo

Lecco in Spring

In the spring Lake Lecco offers many landscape, historical and architectural ideas, come and visit them!
  • Lakes
Walking among villas, parks and botanic gardens

Lakeside and centre of gravedona

Welcome to Gravedona, one of the most important historical-religious centers of Alto Lario.
  • Lakes
Lakeside and centre of Gravedona

Canyoning in Valmalenco

A unique canyoning route in the Alps
  • Lakes
Speleocanyoning nel torrente Cormor in Valmalenco

5 Thing-to-do in Colico

The perfect place for your outdoor holiday on Lake Como
  • Lakes
colico cose da fare

The most beautiful villages on Lake Lugano - What to see

Among enchanting villages, nature reserves and ancient villas, Lake Lugano is the ideal destination for a weekend of pure well-being. Find out more.
  • Lakes
The most beautiful villages on Lake Lugano - What to see

Discover Alto Garda bresciano

Towns perched on cliffs over the water, with dizzy views. And roads dug out of the rock, as harsh as…
  • Lakes
Lago di Garda: il lato selvaggio

Lake Como Itinerary

  • Lakes
Lake Como Itinerary

Weekend on Lake Garda

  • Lakes
Weekend sul Lago di Garda

Lake Como in 5 Villas

Como, Varenna, Bellagio. Go for Villas on Lake Como, discovering enchanted gardens and work of art
  • Lakes
Lake Como in 5 Villas

Rabbit Island in Lake Garda

A very suggestive island, a small lake paradise.
  • Lakes
Discover San Biagio, the Rabbit Island in Lake Garda

A host of surfboards on Lombardy lakes

From wakeboarding to flyboarding, kitesurfing to SUP: the on-trend water sports on the lakes of Lombardy
  • Lakes
Un esercito di tavole da surf sui laghi lombardi

Lago di Garda: the shadow of D’Annunzio

From the Vittoriale degli Italiani to the fifteenth-century Cathedral in Salò, via the Valle delle Cartiere valley in Toscolano Maderno: all the spectacular sights around Gardone Riviera
  • Lakes
Lago di Garda, lungolago Zanardelli

Lake Como in spring

Discovering Lake Como, among blooming wisteria, idyllic landscapes and crystal clear waters.
  • Lakes
Visiting the Villas by boat

the archaelogical palimpsest of Comacina

We explore the island of Comacina on Lake Como.
  • Lakes
Comacina Island, Lake Como

Lago di Iseo: the pleasant isle

Cars are not allowed on Monte Isola island, where visitors must walk or cycle as they explore the delightfully silent, narrow streets in its villages
  • Lakes
Lago di Iseo: l'amena Monte Isola

Lago di Como:Bellagio, the pearl

One of the world's best-loved places, Bellaggio lies on the tip of the central headland, offering convenient ferry access to both branches of the lake
  • Lakes
Lago di Como: Bellagio, la perla

5 lakes to be explored

Not just big lakes: discover 5 other small stretches of fresh water in Lombardy
  • Lakes
Lago d'Idro

Botanical garden and lakeside of gardone riviera

Splendid village of Lake Garda, an exceptional place, among botanical gardens and memories linked to Gabriele D'Annunzio.
  • Lakes
Botanical garden and lakeside of Gardone Riviera