ITINERARIES SIMPLe Ways from the museum to the territory towards Expo and beyond

Provincia di Settore Cultura, Beni Culturali, Identità e Tradizioni [email protected] www.provincia.lecco.it Introduction

The 2015 edition of the cultural tourist itineraries “SIMPLe Ways from the museums to the area, to Expo 2015 and beyond” is only one of many initiatives to help visitors rediscover and enjoy the rich and varied cultural heritage of the . This publication, already a success in the fi rst edition, aims to provide the visitor with interesting ways to discover the collections in the Lecco Museum System, which counts a total of 29 museums to date. The aim is also to lead the visitor to extend their visit to the area itself with all its heritage sites and multifaceted beauty so that it becomes the real museum to ITINERARIES explore. We have created a virtuous network of itineraries which allow local or tourist to visit the area and enjoy the landscape and SIMPLe natural surroundings with an increased awareness of the historic, artistic and architectural heritage. Ways SIMPLe Ways are ten tourist itineraries exploring the Lecco from the museum branch of Lake , , Val San Martino and , worthwhile destinations for visitors to the area who want to to the territory immerse themselves in the spectacular natural surroundings towards Expo and beyond which still bear traces of the local heritage, at times until recently forgotten and only now rebuilt or restored. A cura di These itineraries are the fruit of a coordinated effort by the Provincia di Lecco museum administrations and the operators, often voluntary Settore Cultura, Beni Culturali, workers, to reach the objectives set by the Museum System: Identità e Tradizione conservation, administration of the collections and above all, the Sistema Museale della Provincia di Lecco promotion of our common heritage.

Progettazione e Coordinamento In this year of EXPO 2015 “Feed the planet, energy for life”, we Anna Ranzi con Rossella Crippa, have also focused on the typical foods in our area, often with in collaborazione con il oral testimony by local people and documents and objects Comitato Tecnico Scientifi co from the ethnographic collections. Apart from visiting places del Sistema Museale of historical and artistic interest, there will be a chance to taste typical Lombard dishes, with ingredients from our mountains and Graphic Design and Printing waterways, with fi sh (lavaret, shad, perch, trout), dried meats Grafi che F.lli Maggioni Lecco and sausages and cheeses accompanied by a steaming dish of Febbraio 2015 polenta, a drizzle of olive oil from the lake and the bouquet of (IIa edizione) the local wines.

LECCO We hope this will prove a useful and enjoyable guide to our local heritage and we wish all our readers who follow these itineraries a warm welcome and a pleasant stay in the province of Lecco. Progetto “Expolake Lecco: green, healthy, smart land” Flavio Polano Ugo Panzeri “Iniziativa realizzata con il contributo President Counsellor for Culture di Regione ” for the Province of Lecco 11.. Upper San Martino Valley

14 Rossino

1 It presents historical documents, photographs and stories of the workers together with a collection of work tools and of the resources which determined the vocation of the area. Starting from the museum itself, the “Valle dei 4 Muratori” or Stonemasons’ Torre 4 de’ Busi Valley, is a hiking trail with Monte 16 stop points to illustrate the Marenzo close ties between the town and the art of construction. CA’ MARTÌ: THE MUSEUM AND THE “STONEMASONS’ VALLEY” 1 Follow the path through + the 16 stop points - Carenno the lanes of the historic Pertüs Path centre with the medieval PARISH MUSEUM SAN LORENZO DON CARLO VILLA 14 Tuzzano tower and the 20th - Rossino () century parish church. Then Church of Santa Margherita - continue as its winds among Oratory of Santo Stefano and Church of rivers and chestnut woods

Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting San Michele - Torre de’ Busi to the frescoed oratory of San Domenico and the Recommended time for the visit: 1/2 days ancient lime kilns for lime production. P 1 sq ✎ Ca’ Martì. The Museum and the In the medieval village of Carenno, the Museum Ca’ Stonemasons’ Valley Martì and the Stonemasons’ Valley recounts the history, Via Fontana, 3 life and work of the stonemasons of the San Martino 23802 Carenno Valley. A wealth of knowledge and professional skills Opening times: from April to November on Sunday 3.00- passed from one generation to another and still to be seen 5.00 p.m. / other days by appointment in the traditional buildings For info, visits and educational workshops: 0341.610220 as well as in the many www.museocamarti.it disused quarries where the memory of hard work, dedication and emigration is echoed. The museum Above Carenno, the Pertüs Path is a nature trail was set up as part of a for those visitors who are curious about the project to preserve the material culture and the development of this area. architectural and folk The trail is accessible to people with disabilities. heritage of the town. 2 3 11.. Upper San Martino Valley

23801 Rossino di P sq ✎ Q Calolziocorte Opening times: Saturday 3.00-6.00 p.m. / festive Famous for its castle, the little hamlet of Rossino above days 10.00-12.00 a.m. and Calolziocorte is home to the Parish Museum San Lorenzo 3.00-6.00 p.m. / weekday Don Carlo Villa, with works by major Lombard artists and by appointment a singular collection of liturgical vestments and ornaments. For info, visits and This is a trail of discovery of faith, art and folk culture educational workshops: which starts at the medieval Church of San Lorenzo Vecchio 0341.643259 / which has an extensive fresco cycle and a belfry used as a 0341.645510 lookout and signal point for the entire valley. We proceed Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries from the church to the neoclassical building of the Just south of new parish church where Calolziocorte, at an there are paintings like the altitude of about altarpiece of Saint Catherine 600 metres on the of Alexandria, dated 1642 top of the hill of and attributed to the Como the same name artists Giovanni Battista and which separates the Giovanni Paolo Recchi. The municipalities of Sacristy has a painting of Torre de’ Busi and the Immaculate Conception Monte Marenzo, the attributed to Carlo Ceresa, church of Santa the largest known work by Margherita is the this major painter. most important The museum collection example of medieval contains some unique art in the San objects such as liturgical Martino Valley. It vestments sewn by hand takes about 30 from the 17th to the 19th minutes from Monte centuries and some fi ne Marenzo on foot to goldsmithery, the highlight reach the complex being the reliquary of the which was built in Holy Thorn by Eugenio the late 13th century Bellosio, as well as a in an isolated collection of books from the position, probably 18th to 20th centuries. commissioned by a powerful local family to stand outside the walls of a castle. The Parish Museum San church is Romanesque in style with a single nave Lorenzo Don Carlo Villa and wide apse and there is a major cycle of Piazza S. Lorenzo, 2 4 5 On the banks of 11.. Upper San Martino Valley 22.. the River Vercurago4 20 late-medieval frescos inspired by the life of 154 Calolziocorte Saint Margaret, of women in labour. Church of Santa Margherita Monte Marenzo For info and visits: 0341. 602240 (Library of Monte Marenzo) 0341.602200 (Municipality of Monte Marenzo) 0341.603025 (Parish of Monte Marenzo) 4 Arlate

Imbersago Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries The Oratory of Santo Stefano is part of the VILLA DE PONTI BOTANICAL GARDEN 15 fascinating complex of San Michele, the historic S. Maria del Lavello Monastery - Calolziocorte and religious centre which for centuries was the point of reference for the communities in the Church of St Colombano and Gottardo - - hamlet Torre de’ Busi area; it dates back to the Dark of Arlate Ages or even Early Christian times and has a ABEGG SILK MUSEUM 20 trapezoid nave ending in an apse, rebuilt in the Sanctuary of San Girolamo Emiliani - Casa Cittadini - 15th century as can be seen from the groin ceiling, single arch windows in the presbytery and SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting Castle of the Unnamed - Somasca - Vercurago the wooden panels on the ashlar walls. Inside there are paintings of great iconographic interest Cycle trail along the Adda river and Leonardo Da Vinci including a nursing Mother and Child from the ferry of - Parco Adda Nord late 14th century. Recommended time for the visit: 1/3 days Oratory of Santo Stefano and Church of San Michele For info and visits: P 1 sq ✎ Q 035.785004 (Municipality of Torre de’ Busi)

A stone’s throw from the railway station in Calolziocorte, the In the valley is cultivated the “scagliolo of Carenno”, Villa De Ponti Botanical Garden offers a chance to relax a corn of ancient tradition from Bergamo, which today is among over 500 species of native and exotic trees and shrubs, part of the network of ancient corn present in Expo some wild, some planted. The park is centred around an 2015. From the scagliolo are obtained a tasty polenta, eliptical path and the vegetation is planted at variable heights excellent baked goods and crispy and healthy biscuits. For and alternates with lawns. The attention to landscape design information: Ca’ Martì Museum. is evident everywhere from the vertical wall that looks like a To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: cliff, a dale of conifers which recalls a mountain wood and a www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare hedge of hornbeam marking the park boundaries. There is also For accommodation: an area devoted to medicinal and culinary herbs and fruit and www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire a Mediterranean bed with species like mastic tree and broom. 6 7 On the banks of 22.. the River Adda

The history of the Botanical Garden is connected to the valley. The Ecomuseum promotes research that of the house, Villa De and educational projects, catalogues the tangible Ponti, now property of the and intangible assets of the area, its environmental Mountain Community of the and historical heritage. Eastern Lake and San Martino Ecomuseum of the San Martino Valley Valley. Both the villa and Via Galli, 48/A - 23801 Calolziocorte the gardens date back to the early 20th century and For info: 0341.240724 www.comunitamontana.lc.it were designed in the eclectic and Art Nouveau styles. They were commissioned Continuing along the left bank by the Milanese De Ponti of the River Adda, on the

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries family who were involved outskirts of Valle San Martino, in the chemical industry and rises the historic Convent settled in the area because of the Servi di Maria and of the nearby Barium Salts church of the Vergine del factory, a prominent example Lavello. This major centre of industrial archaeology in played a vital role in the the town. history, culture and devotions Villa De Ponti Botanical of the local communities. Garden The original settlement Via Galli, 48/A dates back to Roman times 23801 Calolziocorte but was destroyed in 1373 Opening time: from May during the bloody massacre to August 3.00-6.30 p.m. / of Valle San Martino. In the from September to October late 15th century it was the 2.00-5.30 p.m. site of a miraculous discovery: For visits and educational digging beneath a tomb, the workshops: 02.20404175 hermit Jacomino came across For info: 0341.240724 a spring which proved to have extraordinary healing powers int. 2 and immediately attracted a considerable fl ow of pilgrims. www.comunitamontana.lc.it The main cloister, the residential area of the Fathers, and the minor cloister used for guest quarters open onto the river and the churchyard, divided into three spans with a pitched ceiling. Villa De Ponti is also the seat of the visitor centre The interior houses many paintings and 18th century decorations. of the Ecomuseum of the San Martino Valley Church of S. Maria del Lavello which includes the municipalities of , Via Padri Serviti, 1 – 23801 Caloziocorte Calolziocorte, Caprino Bergamasco, Carenno, Cisano Boscone, Monte Marenzo, Pontida, Torre Opening time: weekdays 9.00-12.00 a.m. and 3.00-6.30 de’ Busi and Vercurago. Its aim is to document, p.m./ festive days 9.00-12.00 a.m. and 3.00-9.00 p.m. preserve and valorize the historical memory of For info and visits: 0341.1590101 www.monasterodellavello.it 8 9 On the banks of 22.. the River Adda

essential to the silk textiles industry. There is a great For centuries, the River Adda was the natural border circular hydraulic doubler between the Venetian Republic and . Just south dating back to 1815, the fi rst of the Lavello monastic complex, the disused railway complex machine ever built bridge crosses to the opposite bank of the river and the by man which was capable of shores of Lake and Lake Garlate. A cycle trail in the nature reserve Parco Adda Nord will lead you to the twisting hundreds of threads old textiles mill in Garlate which is now a museum. at the same time and in a regular manner. It is a type of machine which reached For information: Parco Regionale Adda Nord during the Middle Ages at the time of the Crusades, appearing www.parcoaddanord.it for the fi rst time in Lucca in the 13th century and it played For bike rental: BluBike Service Lecco Municipality a fundamental role in the development of the modern silk www..lecco.it industry, even being studied by Leonardo da Vinci. Outside there

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries is a historic mulberry orchard, about sixty trees showing the development of this plant which is so essential to the silkworm. P 1 sq ✎ Abegg Silk Museum Via Statale, 490 - 23852 Garlate Recently reopened after extensive restoration work, the Opening times: from 1st to 30 September Saturday 2.30- Abegg Silk Museum in Garlate has some fascinating exhibits 6.30 p.m. and Sunday 9.30-12.00 a.m. and 2.30-6.30 p.m. recounting the history of the silk industry in , from / from 1st October to 31 May Saturday 2.00-5.30 p.m. and silkworm production using the Pasteur method to the reeling Sunday 9.30-12.30 a.m. and 2.00-5.30 p.m. of the cocoons over the centuries and spinning silk into For info, visits and educational workshops: from Monday to thread as well as a new section devoted to textile production Saturday morning by appointment and the future of silk. The museum was founded by the 331.9960890 - www.museosetagarlate.it Swiss company Abegg 1953 under its Italian Director Carlo Job with the mission of documenting the infl uence Head downstream along the Adda from Garlate of the silk industry on along the cycle path in the Parco Adda Nord nature the applied sciences and reserve to Arlate, a hamlet in the municipality of technological development Calco, where the church of Santi Colombano in silk production. This is e Gottardo sits on a hilltop overlooking the carried on today with a Adda Valley. Founded in Roman times, it is one particular attention to of the main sites in the province in both artistic education and projects for and strategic terms. Originally part of a fortifi ed structure overlooking the river, the original schools. Located in the nucleus was transformed into a monastery at historic Abegg spinning the turn of the first millennium. The first mill which dates back to documented reference dates back to 1162 when the late 18th century, the the complex off ered hospitality to Benedictine museum has a collection nuns under the Prior of the Abbey of Pontida. of machinery, equipment, Church of Santi Colombano e Gottardo accessories and products, but Via S. Gottardo - 23885 Calco the major collection is that of For info: 039.9920252 (Parish of Arlate) the spinning machinery so 1010 11 On the banks of Along the Lake shore 22.. the River Adda 33.. from Abbadia to

Lierna 17

In the hamlet of Somasca, in the municipality of Vercurago, the Basilica of San Girolamo is another important testimony to the devotion of the local people, linked to the fi gure of San Girolamo Emiliani, a Venetian soldier from a wealthy family who experienced a conversion in 1525. Leaving the Sanctuary, walk through the hamlet of Somasca along the narrow via San Girolamo which passes 4 214 Mandello under a monumental gateway marking the start of a del Lario pilgrim path fl anked by chapels dedicated to the life of 22 the Saint with a fl ight of steps halfway leading to a votive Maggiana grotto. On the outskirts of the historic centre of Somasca overlooking via San Girolamo, the convent of the Ursuline 3 Sisters includes Casa Cittadini Le Sorgenti, a museum

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries dedicated to the life of Blessed Caterina Cittadini, where you will fi nd furnishings, personal eff ects and documents MONTI CIVIC SILK MUSEUM 3 illustrating the life of this holy woman who, together with MOTO GUZZI MUSEUM 21 - her sister Giuditta, set up an important teaching mission in the early 19th century in order to provide for the religious Church of San Giorgio - Mandello del Lario education and improve the lot of young women in the area. MAGGIANA TOWER MUSEUM 22 - Maggiana - Mandello Accessible at the foot of the Valletta, about 180 metres del Lario above the lake, there is the Rock where San Girolamo Viandante trail - from Abbadia Lariana to set up his orphanage. A path leads to the walls of the castle which according to local tradition belonged to the Punta Grumo and Riva Bianca - Lierna Innominato, a famous character in Manzoni’s historical SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting GIANNINO CASTIGLIONI MUSEUM 17 - Maggiana novel, The Betrothed. Recommended time for the visit: 1/3 days Sanctuary of S. Girolamo Emiliani Via Alla Basilica, 1 - 23808 Vercurago For info: 0341.420272 www.santuariosangirolamo.org P 1 sq ✎ Casa Cittadini Museo “Le Sorgenti” Via S. Gerolamo, 42 - 23808 Vercurago The history of the Monti Civic Silk Museum of Abbadia Lariana For info and visits: 0341.420373 www.orsolinesomasca.it dates back as far as 1818, when this family of silk manufacturers arrived in the lakeside village to open a silk throwing factory. The Castello dell’Innominato Loc. Somasca - 23808 Vercurago decision to build along what is now the main road connecting For info: 0341.420272 Lecco and Valtellina was actually determined by its proximity to www.santuariosangirolamo.org the Zerbo stream, the only water course in the village and an indispensible source of power for the machinery. Subsequent to careful restoration work, the museum is now a major example The typical product you can enjoy in this area is the river of industrial archaeology and exhibits original fi xtures and fi sh, in particular, chub and trout, which can be cooked in fi ttings, equipment and objects used in silk-making. There used many different ways. to be a proper silk mill alongside in order to fi nish the silk To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: manufacturing cycle as well as to produce the raw material www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare directly onsite as well as a dormitory, a refectory and some For accommodation: small apartments for migrant workers. The museum is set www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire out in the 19th century style. Here you can fi nd the grandiose 12 13 Along the Lake shore 33.. from Abbadia to Lierna

circular doubler, a piece of the Airone, the most popular machinery 5 metres in mid-range motorbike in Italy diameter and 11 metres high between 1939 and 1957, with a total of 972 spindles and then the Falcone, every which in 1897 were granted biker’s dream in the Fifties. under a bailment agreement But Moto Guzzi has also gone by the Tecnorama Museum down in history for the bikes of Winterthur in that got Italians on the road in perfect working condition during the Post-war years, with an electric motor. To models like the Motoleggera the rear of the building you 65 (Guzzino) and the Galletto, can still see the two hydraulic and the V7 Sport which wheels made of cast iron reinvented the very concept

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries and iron which powered all of the sports bike with its the machinery in the factory, 90° V-twin engine. Alongside the largest of which has a one-off pieces like the fi rst diameter of 7 metres. motorcycle built by Carlo Monti Civic Silk Museum Guzzi in 1919, the only one Via Nazionale, 93 to bear the initials G.P. (Guzzi- 23821 Abbadia Lariana Parodi), and world-famous models like the Otto Cilindri 500 Opening times: Wednesday from 1957, an ingenious design by Giulio Cesare Carcano, the 9.30-12.30 a.m. and 2.30- museum also has a selection of historic fi lm footage called 5.30 p.m. / Friday 2.30-5.30 “The sound of passion”. Right next to the exhibition you can p.m. / Sunday and festive also visit the Moto Guzzi wind tunnel, the only facility in the days 9.30-12.30 a.m. / world for aerodynamic tests on motorcycles. other days by appointment Moto Guzzi Museum For info, visits and educational workshops: 0341.700831 Via Emanuele Vittorio Parodi, 57 - 23826 Mandello del Lario www.museoabbadia.it Opening times: from Monday to Friday 3.00-4.00 p.m. (in July from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.) P 1 sq For info and visits: 0341.709237, www.motoguzzi.it

The Moto Guzzi Museum tells the story of the iconic Italian motorcycle through a marvellous collection of standard Along the eastern shore of , the “Sentiero production models, sports bikes, experimental prototypes and del Viandante” is an ancient trade route leading engines produced here over the years. In the heart of the old from Milan to Switzerland. Nowadays, it is a unique factory in Mandello del Lario where the legend of the Eagle opportunity to rediscover the natural beauty and was founded in 1921 the exhibition space devoted to the artistic heritage dotted along the lake shore from Lecco production models gives an overview of the economic and social northwards. The path heads halfway up the hillside development of Italy over the past century: there is the classic from Abbadia Lariana and runs in and out of hamlets Norge from 1928, the fi rst touring bike in motorcycle history and villages as far as Colico, the gateway to Valtellina. designed by Carlo Guzzi together with his brother Giuseppe, www.leviedelviandante.it some of the Guzzi Sports and GT models from the Thirties, 14 15 Along the Lake shore 33.. from Abbadia to Lierna

and was possibly commissioned by the lords of Mandello. Its In a panoramic name harks back to the 19th position along the century restoration work (1828) “Sentiero del when a plaque was uncovered Viandante”, the which mentioned that Emperor church of San Federico Barbarossa had stayed Giorgio in Mandello there in 1158. Tradition also has del Lario has a single it that there was once a castle nave with a trussed situated on a hillside just north roof and quadrangular of the town. Situated within a apse with a groin small fortifi ed courtyard, the vault. Most likely Romanesque in origin, the Tower still has the pointed church has a rare cycle of frescos dating back to Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries archway over the door and the period from 1475 to 1485, a time of traces of the original windows repeated outbreaks of the Plague, part of the in the upper section which cultural and religious matrix of the Cistercian are now bricked up. There movement promoted by Saint Bernard. An are also vertical arrow slits important sign of Marian devotion in the province above the ancient doorway of Lecco, the Santuario della Beata Vergine del which was once located on Fiume at the mouth of the River Meria in Mandello the fi rst fl oor, standard practice was founded in 1624. The original fl oorplan of an in medieval buildings of this octagon surmounted by a dome and lantern saw type. Other windows were the later addition of an elegant portico with nine added at a later date, from the arches and the 14 Baroque chapels of the Stations 16th century onwards, giving a of the Cross. more harmonious aspect to the whole. The picturesque terrace on the roof is the work of one of the restoration projects and from here the visitor can enjoy magnifi cent views of the lake and of the P 1 ✎ town of Mandello. The original rooms are still intact (one with an interesting painted ceiling). These now house the Museum where a series of artifacts and paintings from the The Maggiana Tower Museum, one of the best preserved late 19th and early 20th century tell the history of Maggiana in the entire Lecco area and fully accessible on all fi ve fl oors, and the way local people lived and worked in this area. is situated in a panoramic position in the hamlet of Maggiana which is now part of the town of Mandello del Lario. The In Mandello the area of you can fi nd the following paths: massive square building which dominates the lake once The Paths of Memory - Itinerari della memoria; Pathways controlled the Ducal Road along the lake shore and was in in Mandello remind us – Le vie di Mandello ci ricordano; communication with all the fortifi cations on the eastern shore of Walking Along the Canal – A piedi lungo la roggia; Towers Lake Como. It was built in a strategic position in relation to all in the Old Village – Torri nell’antico borgo. the tracks leading toward the rich pastures and mines of the Maggiana Tower Museum nearby Meria Valley and the Piani Resinelli highlands. Although Via della Torre di Federico, 2 - Maggiana - Mandello del Lario it has undergone renovation work on numerous occasions For info and appointment: 339.7391647 / 335.5470555 throughout the years, the Tower dates back to the 12th century [email protected] 16 17 Along the Lake shore 33.. from Abbadia to Lierna

the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, not to mention countless Punta Grumo and funeral monuments in the Riva Bianca in Lierna Monumental Cemetery in are among the Milan or the Monument to largest free beaches the War Dead in Lecco and Mandello del Lario. Castiglioni on Lake Como which was also involved in the are suitable for construction of the war bathing. cemeteries in Redipuglia, Grappa, Caporetto, Zara, Pola and Timau and coined many medals to commemorate Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries famous historic fi gures. He 1P fi rst came to Lierna in the early years of the 20th century and had a studio Giannino Castiglioni is the in via Roma where he most prominent of the many worked on the reconstruction artists who have stayed in of the local cemetery. Here Lierna. The museum dedicated he designed the central to him is currently under church of San Michele and construction and will be the sculptures and bas reliefs home to the plaster casts for the chapels of the which his heirs so generously Micheli, Balbiani, Spada and donated to the municipal Costa families. authorities. Born in Milan in 1884, he studied at Brera and Giannino Castiglioni during his long career took Museum part in exhibitions in Italy For info: Lierna Municipality and abroad. A painter in his 0341.740108 youth, he later became The museum is currently being set up. exclusively focused on sculpture and was extremely The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the prolific, producing about lake fi sh, in particular, “lavarello” (white fi sh) and 700 works including the “missoltino” (dried twaite shad), which can be cooked monumental sculptures for in many different ways. the Houses of Parliament in Montevideo, the statue of To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: Christ the King in the Catholic www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare University of Milan and that For accommodation: of Dante in the courtyard of www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire 18 19 and from the 44.. villages to the mountain

Bellano 23 family with Swiss roots, who left it to the Italian state in 1939 to become public property and a museum. There are 14 rooms open to the public with a wealth 4 of furnishings in a variety of styles. Still in use as 2 13 Vezio Varenna a conference centre, Villa Monastero has hosted many major scientifi c conventions over the years, including Esino 10 Lario the summer school of the prestigious Italian School of VILLA MONASTERO HOUSE MUSEUM AND BOTANICAL Physics which counts 60 GARDEN 2 Nobel Prize winners. The lush Botanical Garden contains Villa Cipressi Garden - Varenna a variety of native and exotic Church of St George and Village of Varenna species and extend for almost Vezio Castle - Varenna two kilometres along the LUIGI SCANAGATTA ORNITHOLOGICAL AND NATURAL lakeside so that in every HISTORY MUSEUM 13 season the villa is an explosion

Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting Viandante Trail - Varenna of colour, shapes and scents. LA CA’ DEI RADIO VECC MUSEUM 23 - Bellano Villa Monastero House MUSEO DELLE GRIGNE (GRIGNE MUSEUM) 10 - Museum and Botanical Garden Recommended time for the visit: 1/3 days Via G. Polvani, 4 23829 Varenna Opening time for the Botanical P 1 sq ✎ Q Garden: from 1st March to 1st November open daily 9.30 a.m.-7.00 p.m. Originally a Cistercian convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Opening time for the House Villa Monastero in Varenna owes its current eclectic Museum: from 1st March appearance to repeated reconstruction projects over the course to 31st July and from 1st of nine centuries. It was the Mornico family from Valsassina September to 1st November who transformed the convent into a private residence between Fri-Sat-Sun and festivities 1609 and 1645, but it then passed to a series of different 9.30 a.m. - 7.00 p.m.; from owners including some illustrious members of Milanese 1st to 31st August open high society at the turn of the 20th century such as Carolina daily 9.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. Maumari Seufferheld, a relation of the novelist Alessandro For info, guided tours and Manzoni. It was bought by the German industrialist Walter educational workshops: Kees who renovated it in a particularly Nordic style between 0341.295450 1897 and 1909 before passing to the De Marchis, a Milanese www.villamonastero.eu 20 21 Varenna and Bellano from the 44.. villages to the Grigna mountain

Perched on the hilltop above sq ✎ Varenna, Vezio Castle is P considered one of the loveliest on Lake Como. This Practically opposite Villa medieval fort has uncertain Monastero, with access from origins and is believed to beside the Varenna tourist beconnected with the information offi ce, the Luigi Lombard queen Teodolinda. Scanagatta Ornithological It centres on a square tower with battlements and and Natural History a drawbridge, is home to Museum was founded by a a centre for breeding birds local scholar of ornithology, of prey and offers breathtaking malacology and botany who

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries views over the lake. left his collection of local Vezio Castle and migratory birds to the Frazione di Vezio town. The museum has a 23828 Perledo - Varenna major scientifi c library of over For info and visits: 1,500 volumes, monographs 348.8242504 and pamphlets, with examples www.castellodivezio.it of Natural Histories dating photos by A. Locatelli back to the 18th century. The fi rst fl oor has a series of dioramas and exhibition cases while the second fl oor From the little piazza outside the Church of focuses on evolutionary and Sant’Antonio Abate, the ancient path the Scabium survival strategies of various Way or “Sentiero degli Scabium” in the hamlet of organisms, with examples of Vezio, now a part of the “Viandante Trail”, (see page 15) leads downhill to the Varenna cemetery. nesting and egg laying. From there you can go left, following the Luigi Scanagatta directions for the “sorgente del ” and Ornithological and the cave and the spring from which the river Natural History Museum gushes foaming white (hence the name, Milk Via IV Novembre, 7 River) due to a natural siphon effect. 23829 Varenna Opening times: from April to October from Tuesday to Saturday 10.00-12.00 a.m. and 3.00-5.00 p.m.; Sunday Varenna is a particularly lovely village with a 10.00-12.00 a.m. wealth of sights, popular with tourists for the For info: 0341.830367 spectacular scenery and historic architecture. It has [email protected] a typical Roman layout with the space organised www.varennaturismo.com 22 23 Varenna and Bellano from the 44.. villages to the Grigna mountain

into insulae. The sq oldest church in the P ✎ village is probably that of San Giovanni The museum collection, Battista right in which opened in 2014 in the middle of the Bellano along the main main square. The road beside the schools, Romanesque single offers visitors an incredible nave has important number of vintage radios fragments of frescos and gramophones acquired dating back to the by the avid collectors Paolo mid-14th century, and Rina Panatti over a fi fty

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries while the paintings year period. The museum in the apse are from is divided into six sections the 16th century. in chronological order: the The provostal church area dedicated to Marconi, of San Giorgio a section on American contains a number of radios, the Fascist period, frescos from diff erent gramophones and records, periods including a the Post-war period with rare image of the the fi rst wire recorders and Lombard queen fi nally, the section on the Teodolinda, the Sixties. Rare fi nds include driving force behind the fi rst Marconi radio from the Christianisation 1923, the Milan Radio of the lake area as from 1929, a gramophone well as an interesting dated 1897 with the fi rst polyptych by cardboard record, an Edison Giovanni Pietro gramophone with wax Brentani dated 1467. On the right in the second cylinders, vinyl records with Chapel you can see the old Altarpiece of St. Mary songs from the Fifties and Monastery (Now Villa Monastero). Apart from many other curious items, places of worship, Varenna also has architectural all in perfect working order. attractions such as Villa Cipressi, composed of buildings constructed between the 17th and La Ca’ dei Radio Vecc 19th centuries and the Hotel Royal Victoria, once Museum a textiles mill and a hotel since 1838, where Via Manzoni 7 23822 Bellano illustrious guests supposedly included the English Queen Victoria. Opposite is the multipurpose Opening times: from May to August from Tuesday to Sunday room Rosa e Marco De Marchi” used for Exhibition 10.00-12.30 a.m., 2.30-7.00 p.m.; from September to April and Convention Centre. Saturday and Sunday 10.00-12.30 a.m., 2.30-7.00 p.m. (other days by appointment, tel. 331 8054154) 24 25 Varenna and Bellano from the History and nature 44.. villages to the Grigna mountain 55.. on the upper Lake

P sq ✎ 4 Spend an hour or two at the Colico 8 Museo delle Grigne in Esino 4 Lario to discover the history of the Esino area but also the great geological events which made our planet inhabitable. The limestone-dolomite cliffs of the Grigne and their outcrops have yielded an extraordinary

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries wealth of molluscs of all sizes and have been drawing MUSEUM OF RURAL CULTURE 8 scientists and paleontologists FORTE DI MONTECCHIO 4 - Varenna from all over the world for a century. The museum has Forte di Fuentes - Colico archaeological fi nds, fossils, White War Trail / Cadorna Line - various places between local stone, specimens of Varenna, Dervio, , , , Colico local fauna and fl ora as well Pian di Spagna Natural Preserve - Municipalities of the as ethnographic exhibits upper part of lake Como Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting which illustrate the diverse Piona Abbey - Colico origins of the two settlements Village of Corenno Plinio - Dervio in the Esino valley (“Crès” which is of Celtic origin Recommended time for the visit: 1/2 days and “Piasch” founded by the Romans). The museum bears witness to the oldest human settlements on the slopes of the Grigne. P 1 sq ✎ Museo delle Grigne Piazza Petro Pensa, 4 - 23825 Esino Lario Opening times: from July to August; Wednesday 6.00-7.00 In , a district of Colico, p.m., Friday 8.30-10.00 p.m. and Saturday 10.30-12.00 a.m. the Museum of Rural For info, visits and educational workshops: 0341.860111 Culture presents a faithful www.museodellegrigne.it reconstruction of a country cottage between the 19th The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the and 20th centuries, starting precious Laghi Lombardi extra virgin olive oil, greately with the great kitchen on sought after and produced with traditional methods. the ground fl oor. In the To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: adjoining room you can see www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare the bedroom with the great For accommodation: wrought iron double bed www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire with its traditional mattress, 26 27 History and nature 55.. on the upper Lake

sheets, blankets and for the fi rst War. It features bedspread. In the wardrobe high walls of cut granite, there are period clothes numerous underground and accessories and a chest rooms and passages which containing the precious include a powder magazine linen trousseau. You can excavated over 60 metres learn about the farming and into the rock. The four forestry traditions of the area, original 149 mm Schneider haymaking, cheesemaking, cannons are still intact animal husbandry, cereal in their turrets protected and grape growing. Not to by steel domes, as is the mention all the crafts which electrical systems and the were often practiced under complex ventilation system. Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries the home roof like wool With a range of over 14 spinning and iron, wood kilometres, these imposing and leather work. There is cannons controlled lower also an exhibit on what was Valtellina, lower Valchiavenna traditionally women’s work. and the northern stretch of Lake Como thanks to their Museum of Rural Culture strategic position which Via Campione, 21 enjoys a magnifi cent view 23823 Colico over the upper Lario. Nature Opening times: from June landscapes and history to September 2.30-5.30 p.m./ intermingle during a gentle other days by appointment stroll, surrounded by cultural For info, visits and educational and culinary ideas. workshops: 339.5289163 www.museocontadinocolico.it Forte di Montecchio Via alle Torri – 23823 Colico Opening time: from March to November; Saturday, sq Sunday and festive days P ✎ 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m. / August all days 10.00 a.m. The historical complex of the - 6.00 p.m. Forte di Montecchio built For info, visits and between 1912 and 1914 in educational workshops: Colico is one of the largest 0341.940322 and best preserved forts www.fortemontecchionord.it in and was part of the northern frontier known as the “Cadorna Line”, built 28 29 History and nature 55.. on the upper Lake

The stretch towards the Orobian Alps of the defence line “Occupazione Avanzata Frontiera Situated at the point where the valleys of Valtellina Nord”, also known as the “Cadorna Line” and Valchiavenna meet, the Pian di Spagna is a has features typical of mountain fi eldwork wide plain which joins Lake Mezzola with Lake fortifi cations: with the help of military labourers Como creating a wetland area of great environmental from the Local Militia, civilian builders and interest, one of the shortest crossing points on the craftsmen built kilometres of trenches, little Alps and a major crossroads on migration routes, an shelters painstakingly excavated into the rock, ideal nesting place for a great variety of birds. gunhouses and caves for machine guns and extensive barriers of barbed wire. Pian di Spagna Natural Preserve and Mezzola Lake Cadorna Line Via Della Torre 1/A – 22010 (Co) For info: 0341.910144 Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries For info: 034.484251 / www.piandispagna.it (Comunità Montana Valsassina, , Val d’Esino e Riviera) www.museograndeguerra.com

Built at the turn of the 17th century by the then Spanish At the tip of the Piona peninsula, the 11th Governor of Milan, Don Pedro Enriquez de Acevedo, count of century abbey dedicated to San Nicolò, Fuentes de Valdepero, the Forte di Fuentes is situated on protector of sailors, is nestled at the feet of Montecchio est, in a strategic position to control the Swiss Monte Legnone and border. The fundamental elements were already in place when Monte Legnoncino in 1606 the fort prepared to on the hillside of welcome its fi rst garrisons: . Inhabited eight companies of infantry, since ancient times two thousand sappers and judging by the twenty pieces of artillery, find in the current later reinforced by a further monastery church eight pieces. Inside, the Parade Ground covers 5,000 of a sepulchral urn square metres bounded by a dating back to the number of different buildings 3rd-4th century. In including the Governor’s 616, a small shrine House and the remains of was built on the a church dedicated to San orders of Agrippino, Barbara, patron saint of Bishop of Como, artillerymen. dedicated to Santa Forte di Fuentes Giustina, the apse For info and visits: of which is still well- 0341.940322 preserved. Inside, www.fortedifuentes.it 30 31 History and nature 55.. on the upper Lake

a single nave with long walls made of Near Dervio the dark stone and a fortified village wooden ceiling ends of Corenno Plinio in a semicircular is renowned as apse. Of particular one of the most interest is the picturesque on the famous cycle of lake. Towering over months, a fresco the houses is the which illustrates the imposing castle most common rural built in the mid- activities in the

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries 14th century by the cloister built in the 13th century by Bonaccorso Andreani family of . The order of St. Benedict is a who were granted source of inspiration and a reference point to Corenno by the the life of Cistercian monks and for the cloistered community of the Abbey of Piona. Archbishop of Milan. The parish San Nicolò Abbey church is dedicated Via Abbazia di Piona, 55 – 23823 Colico to St. Thomas of For info and visits: 0341.940331 Canterbury and has www.abbaziadipiona.it interesting frescos and funerary arches on the exterior. Corenno Plinio, a district of Dervio, is located on the eastern shore of the lake at the foot of Mount Legnoncino, In Robustello, near Colico just above the ford perched on a rocky face, overlooking the center on the Inganna stream, the dirt road for lake. Fontanedo leads to the tower of the same name built in 1357 under the orders of Bernabò Visconti, perhaps to reinforce a pre-existing structure built in a strategic position on the The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the spur on the northern slopes of Monte Legnone chestnut, formerly important food, picked in the woods, to defend the important communications route which was essential in the diet of the poor for its high then known as the “Scalottola”, now called caloric content. “Sentiero del Viandante”. There is a small fortifi ed To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: village around the tower with kilns, stables, hay www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare barns, a well and a chapel in a reasonable state of conservation. For accommodation: www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire 32 33 On the mountains of Muggiasca, 66.. Val Varrone and Piani Resinelli 4 by multimedia connected 12 with the various farming and pastoral activities of the Giumello area, as well as aspects of the local culture, economy

7 and history, from the woodlands to domestic life, migration and celebrated or little known events of the Resistence. 16 Museum of Milk and the Piani Resinelli history of Muggiasca Via Parrocchiale, 1 23838 Vendrogno MUU - MUSEUM OF MILK AND OF THE HISTORY OF MUGGIASCA 7 Opening time: May and Alpe Giumello Farms - Alpe Giumello September Saturday by appointment - Sunday 10.00 - PREMANA ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM 12 12.00 a.m.; from June to Church of San Dionigi (S. Rocco Polyptych) - Premana August, Saturday 4.00 - 6.00 PARCO MUSEO MINERARIO 16 p.m. and Sunday 10.00-

Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting 12.00 a.m./ other days by Recommended time for the visit: 1/3 days appointment For info, visits and sq educational workshops: ✎ 333.3823413 www.muu-vendrogno.it Located in the heart of the hamlet of Vendrogno, the Museum of Milk and the history of Muggiasca occupies what was once the local dairy co-op, where for almost a century milk was collected, processed and transformed by artisans. The original building is largely intact and contains a collection of A paved road leads over 400 exhibits including to the pasture of documents and artifacts. Alpe Giumello at Visitors can see all the an altitude of 1538 equipment used in a dairy in metres. Continuing on the four rooms which made foot to the western up the work space on the end of the hilltop ground fl oor of the building. you have marvellous During the tour you will views overLake Como. discover objects, images and You can then continue archive materials supported 34 35 On the mountains of Muggiasca, 66.. Val Varrone and Piani Resinelli

and cows; the Costume towards the saddle overlooking Val Varrone Room has a display of and fi nally reach the summit of the hill where traditional clothing like the the panorama opens out over Valsassina, the lovely “morel”, a wedding Grigna and Resegone, Pian delle Betulle, Legnone dress with Greek-Albanian and Pizzo Alto. infl uences, instruments used for weaving and some of the handiwork of the local women. Premana Ethnographic 1P sq ✎ Museum Via Roma, 18 23834 Premana Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries Iron was fi rst mined in the upper valley in pre-Roman Opening time: from April to times and in the Iron Room in the Premana Ethnographic October, Wednesday 10.00- Museum you can trace the 12.00 a.m. and Sunday evolution of ironworking in 10.00-12.00 a.m. and 3.00- the Prealps from its origins 6.00 p.m. / August, all days and the period when 10.00-12.00 a.m. and 3.00- forgers emigrated to Venice, 6.00 p.m. / other days by Milan and Carrara right up appointment to the current production For info, visits and of knives and scissors. As educational workshops: far back as 1574, when 0341.818085 Premana had just over 600 www.museo.premana.lc.it inhabitants, there were still 4 swordsmiths, 3 farriers and 40 smiths able to forge In Premana you knives and scissors as well can fi nd the Cantà as keys, railings and locks. Promàn choral group This industry was greatly that presents a facilitated by the lodes musical repertoire of present in Valsassina and Val folk songs of Alpine Varrone and the woodland and religious genre. with water courses to These are songs that provide power to drive the accompanied the furnaces. The Farming Room ritual moments of displays objects used by social life, such as weddings and liturgical mountain peasants working festivities, but also daily life. the hillsides and growing For info: 0341.818085 buckwheat and barley as www.museo.premana.lc.it well as herding goats, sheep 36 37 On the mountains of Muggiasca, 66.. Val Varrone and Piani Resinelli

In the historic centre of Premana, you will fi nd the parish down into the bowels of church of San Dionigi, located in a strategic position, a the earth. Piani Resinelli are fact clearly demonstrated by the narrow embrasure in the laid on a great pass at the lower part of the belfry, which was once a watchtower. foot of the Grigne Mount; The church, which is fi rst mentioned in the 13th century, is by their dominant position richly decorated inside with interesting works dating back to you can enjoy the beautiful the mid-17th century attributed to Luigi Reali. A grandiose view that stretches from 16th century polyptych with the saints Sebastiano, Rocco the Engadine Alps to Monte Rosa. and Bernardo adorns the church. The nearby Oratory of the Immacolata dates back to the late Middle Ages. Parco Museo Minerario dei Piani Resinelli Via Escursionisti, 29

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries 23821 Abbadia Lariana (Loc. 1P sq ✎ Q P. Resinelli) Opening times: from March to October every Sunday/ In the Piani Resinelli area, July and August, Saturday, the Parco Museo Minerario Sunday and festive all day, dei Piani Resinelli is a weekday afternoons / from mining museum which November to February only includes the “Anna” and by appointment “Cavallo” mines, mined for centuries for lead minerals For groups: every days by appointment for the production of weaponry and agricultural For info, visits and implements for the Duchy educational workshops: of Milan and the Venetian 0341.240724 int. 2 Republic. Finally shut down (Comunità Montana in the Fifties due to the drop Lario Orientale – Valle S. in prices and consequent Martino) decline in mining, they www.comunitamontana.lc.it have undergone restoration work so that visitors can discover the different The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the methods used in mining mountain butter, with intense fl avour, made with cream according to the historical and still worked with the traditional churn. period and means available To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: at the time, as well as learn www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare about the lives of miners in the past. There are guided For accommodation: tours where you can go www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire 38 39 77.. In Valsassina

Primaluna 25 in the fields and woods, farmhouses and stables. 4 Recently inaugurated, the museum also has reconstructions of traditional 18 domestic environments with original furniture dating back to the 19th and 20th century. Parish Liturgical and Ethnographic Museum 24 Via dell’Orto 23817 Moggio PARISH LITURGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM 18 Opening times: Saturday and Sunday 4.00-6.00 p.m. For info and visits: Sanctuary of the Madonna della Cintura - Pasturo 339.1113864 “Antonia Pozzi” tour - Pasturo www.parrocchiamoggio.it Piani di Bobbio MORTERONE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART 24 In the vale of Valsassina, on the eastern slopes of the Grigna - Morterone Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting Settentrionale, the town of Pasturo owes its name to the MUSEUM 25 - Primaluna fertile pastures on the plain and the mountains above, still some of the fi nest in the entire province. The wide arena of Recommended time for the visit: 1/2 days the clays, marls and moraines which constitute the local soil is cut through by the course of the stream which, north of the hamlet of Baiedo, winds between two cliffs P sq ✎ which plunge almost 300 metres into the valley. This is the Chiusa dam, where the road crosses the stream by means of the old Chiuso bridge, a strategic point in the history of the In the southern part of the medieval centre of Moggio, the parish valley. In Baiedo, the church of San Pietro Martire, pos- liturgical and ethnographic sibly built in the 15th century, has a fi ne Baroque altar and museum, Museo liturgico the older though much renovated church of Sant’ Andrea, etnografico gives an built beside the cemetery where the poet Antonia Pozzi lies. overview of the history of Her poems were collected and published posthumously by the inhabitants and the Eugenio Montale under the title “Words” or “Parole”. surrounding area, their way of life, religious customs, traditions and age-old crafts. Tools on display on the Inaugurated in Pasturo in 2012 to mark the centenary ground fl oor bear witness of her birth, the cultural itinerary “In the footsteps to local ingenuity and these of Antonia Pozzi – a poetic tour of the area” is a were used for generations 40 41 77.. In Valsassina

permanent exhibition of words and images dedicated to the Milanese poet. Small and quaint village, within walking distance Sulle tracce di Antonia Pozzi from Barzio along a short trail, “Concenedo” has maintained the appearance of a farmer village For info: www.antoniapozzi.it still well represented by the old town where homes and old farmhouses, left largely intact, gather around the small church dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption. There are many evidences of faith that make “Concenedo” a true “holy ground”. There are the Monastery of Carmel and the house Paul VI used to the Ambrosian clergy, just in the same location, Cantello, where in the fi ft eenth

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries century an ancient monastery and shelter for sick pilgrims was built, as well as the picturesque Via Lucis, a path of prayer and penance formed by small votive chapels that accompany the traveller during the ascent from Barzio.

The Baroque Sanctuary of the Madonna della Cintura in Pasturo is one of the major places of worship in Valsassina, an area with a strong tradition of faith where Marian devotion became widespread from the mid-17th century onward. The A modern cable car connects Barzio with Piani devotion to the Madonna of the Belt originated with the di Bobbio which is renowned for its breathtaking miraculous appartition of the Virgin to Saint Monica, the mountain scenery and a popular hiking mother of Saint Augustine. The 17th century wall decoration destination in summer months. In winter, it is very fi ne as is the altarpiece by Luigi Reali. becomes a ski resort with slopes to suit every level of ability.

Famed as the “pearl of Valsassina”, Barzio is the main summer and winter sports resort in 1 sq ✎ the valley and off ers a wide range of free time P activities. During the 16th century, Barzio saw the rise of the ancient noble family the Manzonis, who The Morterone Museum moved here from the neighbouring province of of Contemporary Art was Bergamo and owned a number of manor houses founded in the mid-’80s in including the 17th century Palazzo Manzoni, the smallest municipality today the Town Hall and public library and once in Italy, a focal point for home to those very Manzonis who were ancestors many years in the work of of the author of “The Betrothed”. the poet Carlo Invernizzi, situated on the other side 42 43 77.. In Valsassina

of the Resegone from Lecco. There is a series of 1 sq ✎ sculptures and paintings by P Italian and European artists (initially thirty in all) in The Primaluna Museum a true open air museum has a collection of articles set in uncontaminated which tell the story of surroundings. The works of everyday country life in dozens of artists representing the 19th and 20th century. the best of Italian and The museum is housed in international creativity serve a historical 17th century as the hypothesis and building in the town centre concrete possibility of man where the visitor will fi nd Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries acting in a way that is not reconstructions of domestic alienated from or exploiting environments such as the anthroposised nature but kitchen and bedroom as rather engaged in dialogue well as plenty of space with it which can provide devoted to working life in original and meaningful the countryside. Primaluna interpretative guidelines for origins go back to the dawn all who inhabit or come of time when a people called into contact with it. The Orobii occupied this territory integration of art and after the waters retreat from nature takes place in the valley. uncontaminated places Primaluna Museum which allow freedom of expression of the affi rmation For info: 0341.980253 Municipality of the fundamental oneness of man and nature, as (From summer 2015 declared by Francesca Cortabbio barite mines will be open to the public – Pola, curator of the entire www.comune.primaluna.lc.it) exhibition project and also curator of MACRO, the Museum of Contemporary The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the Art. Robiola of Valsassina, derived from cow’s fresh milk Morterone Museum of Contemporary Art from the cow. It is a medium seasoned soft paste cheese, For info and guided tours: Associazione Culturale Amici di nutritious and very tasty. Morterone: [email protected], tel. 338.1226110. To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare The following nature trails are also of great interest: “The Big Trees Path”, “The Resegone Ring” and other trails for For accommodation: mountain bike and canyoning. www.comune.morterone.lc.it www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire 44 45 Monte Barro 88.. and Alta Brianza

with pre-industrial and post-industrial society in the area with work tools and 5 implements used in daily life and an audio-visual documentation of silk-worm production, farming, cookery 11 and diet, animal husbandry, rural transport and the Pan pipes which became the predominant instrument in local folk music instrument during the 20th century. Oral and visual communication BARRO ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM 5 plays a vital role in passing Piani Barra Archaeological Park - Galbiate on knowledge, behavioral ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM OF UPPER BRIANZA 11 models and forms of art and expression. Consequently, Centro Flora Autoctona - Galbiate the museum carries out its ethnographic research by Villa Bertarelli - Galbiate documenting the lifestyle Villa Vasena Ronchetti - Galbiate

Interesting Sites Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting and memories of local Ethnographic Trails - Monte Barro Park - Galbiate inhabitants, particularly the experiences and stories of Recommended time for the visit: 1/2 days those who are the last to live by certain trades or ways of life in the hills and on the P 1 sq ✎ lake. A separate section of the museum which focuses on bird snaring and hunting A one kilometre stroll is located in the Costa Perla through fi elds and woods Roccolo, once a bird blind, with a marvellous view on the road leading up towards the Eremo or hermitage on of Lake Annone takes you Monte Barro. from the heart of Galbiate Ethnographic Museum of Upper Brianza to the Ethnographic Loc. Camporeso – 23851 Galbiate Museum of Upper Brianza in Camporeso, a research Opening times: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9.00-12.30 and exhibition centre which a.m. / Saturday and Sunday 9.00-12.30 a.m. and 2.00-6.00 p.m. focuses on the customs and For info, visits and educational workshops: way of life of the Brianza 0341.240193- 0341.542266 hills. The museum has long www.meab.parcobarro.it, term exhibitions dealing www.parcobarro.it 46 47 Monte Barro 88.. and Alta Brianza

Museum P 1 sq ✎ Q Loc. Eremo – 23851 Galbiate Opening times: Wednesday 2.00-5.00 p.m. (from April to September) / Saturday and Sunday 10.00-12.00 a.m. and The Barro Archaeological 2.00-5.00 p.m. and by appointment Museum was founded For info, visits and educational workshops: on the discovery of the 0341.542266 - www.parcobarro.it major site on Monte Barro, an enormous fortifi cation with over 5 kilometres The Parco Monte Barro nature reserve is of of walls on the southern great environmental, historical and archaeological perimeter. At Piani di Barra, interest with a great variety of plant species due excavations have revealed to factors such as its location in the Insubrian Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries a late-Roman settlement district and events connected with Pleistocene connected with the great glaciations. Excavations carried out between Prealpine border defence 1986 and 1997 unearthed the only example built between the 5th and in Italy of a vast complex residential and military 6th century to protect against settlement from the period of the Goths. Inside incursions by Germanic this area, researchers have identifi ed a settled tribes before it was overrun area in Piani di Barra and a defensive system by the Goths of Teodoric in between the Eremo or Hermitage and the south- the battle of the bridge of eastern slopes of the mountain. Olginate on the River Adda Parco Monte Barro in 590 A.D. Surrounded by Opening times: Wednesday 2.00 - 5.00 p.m. an archaeological park with (from April to September) / Saturday and Sunday 14 buildings, the museum 10.00 -12.00 a.m. and 2.00 -5.00 p.m. and by tells the story of the appointment. fortification up until its For info: 0341.542266 deliberate abandonment, www.meab.parcobarro.it using information panels, www.parcobarro.lombardia.it pictorial reconstructions Next to the Hermitage you can also find the and three-dimensional Parco Monte Barro Hostel (48 beds) models along with fi gures tel. 0341.540512 and information to help the visitor understand the place of the Barro site in the larger context of the Italian In collaboration with the Commission for the Protection peninsula. There is also a of the Mountain Environment of the Lombardy large exhibition of objects branch of CAI, the Italian Alpine Club, the from daily life. University and the Minoprio Foundation, the Barro Archaeological 48 49 Monte Barro 88.. and Alta Brianza

botanical nature trail called after Giovanni Fornaciari became the country home of the old Milanese is an integral part of the Native Flora Centre Centro Bertarelli family who began restoration work and a Flora Autoctona (CFA) of the Lombardy Regional radical redesign of the gardens. The monumental Authority which is administered by the nature reserve entrance is the work of Giuseppe Bovara as the Parco Monte Barro. With its roots in the fi rst alpine exhedra which marks the boundary of the garden botanical garden in Italy created here in 1891, the trail while Piero Portaluppi was responsible for the comprises fi ve of the main habitats of the Lombard Neo-Baroque design. The lovely gardens are laid Prealpine environment: the meadows growing out on three levels. on carbonate rock, scrub, rough pasture, Villa Bertarelli submediterranean brush and mesophile woodlands. Via Bertarelli, 11 – 23851 Galbiate At an altitude of 750 metres, at the end of the only For info and visits: 0341.542266 road on Monte Barro, the Hermitage or Eremo has

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries www.parcobarro.lombardia.it a colourful history, starting out as a Roman stronghold, then becoming headquarters of the Ostrogoth command, a Lombard fort, a military outpost of the Sforzas, a Franciscan monastery and, in more recent times, a sanatorium which was in operation until 1968. Since 2013 there has been a The Costa Perla Experimental Ornithology modern hostel with spaces for groups and lecture Station is located in an old bird blind for hunting halls. As well as being home to the environmental which has been turned into a centre for the education laboratory and Visitor Centre, the Eremo study of migration patterns and was recognised is the ideal departure point for a tour of the reserve by the Lombardy Regional Authority in 1992. along a loop that winds across the hillside starting Monte Barro occupies a strategic position along and fi nishing at the nearby Alpine Regiment hut. The migration routes and, thanks to the great variety “Nature Trail” begins at the historic Church of San of invertebrates which populate the meadows, is Michele, and continues for 800 metres along the a stopover and feeding point before or aft er the eastern slope of the mountain, offering breathtaking crossing of the Alps. It can also be visited during views over the lake and town of Lecco with detailed the ringing campaigns, when birds are measured information panels along the way illustrating the and set free aft er fi rst being recorded on a local fl ora and fauna. European databank. Experimental Ornithology Station For info and visits: www.parcobarro.lombardia.it

The Headquarters of the nature reserve Parco Monte Barro and the Native Flora Centre is Villa Bertarelli with its 7000 square metres of gardens, a natural terrace overlooking the lakes of Brianza. Built in the 18th century, it passed from the Villa There are wooden information stands with family to the Ballabios until in 1873, the house information about traditional customs and

50 51 Monte Barro From the slopes of Cornizzolo 88.. and Alta Brianza 99.. to the lakes of Brianza

9 26 beliefs situated along nine trails in the Monte Barro nature reserve. These were recently 4 installed alongside panels on the environment 4 and landscape by the Ethnographic Museum of Upper Brianza as part of the project “Ethnographic trails - social and ethnographic history in the nature reserve outside the 4 Ethnographic Museum of Upper Brianza”. Annone Brianza Ethnographic trails For info and visits: 4 www.parcobarro.it Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries BOTANIC GARDEN 26 S. TOMASO MUSEUM OF COUNTRY LIFE 9 - Valmadrera Basilica of St. Pietro al Monte - Civate Locally known as the Iron House or “Ca’ de Church and Cloister of St. Calocero - Civate Fer”, Villa Vasena Ronchetti in Sala al Barro Pilgrim’s House - Civate is an interesting example of Art Nouveau at the Baptistry of St. Giovanni Battista - Oggiono turn of the 20th century. It was bought by the Church of St. Giorgio - Town Hall of Galbiate in 1986 and now houses SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting the administrative offi ces of the Mountain Cornizzolo Mountain Community of Eastern Lake Como, San Martino Annone and Pusiano Lakes with bicycle track Valley and the Monte Barro Nature Reserve Lakeside promenade in Malgrate Consortium. Recommended time for the visit: 1/4 days Villa Vasena Ronchetti Via Vasena, 6 - 23851 Galbiate For info: 0341.240724 int. 2 1P sq ✎ Q www.comunitamontana.lc.it

A proper herb garden with aromatic and medicinal plants greets the visitor to the Centro Fatebenefratelli in the historic The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the centre of Valmadrera. The garden was planted in 1986 in the Marco d’Oggiono raw ham, little seasoned, fairly sweet, wake of a course on herbalism which had been followed up whose salting is done with the S. Margherita di Savoia by an exhibition. On that occasion, the local administration Apulian sea salt. reopened a space which was once the herb garden of a religious order, the Garden of Simples at the Centro Fatebenefratelli. To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: This garden was used to grow medicinal herbs as far back as www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare the 18th century by the Fatebenefratelli religious order, the For accommodation: Brothers Hospitallers, founded in Spain by Saint John of God. www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire In fact, it seem that the particular climate of the Valmadrera 52 53 From the slopes of Cornizzolo 99.. to the lakes of Brianza

area favours the growth of a wide variety of medicinal sq ✎ Q and aromatic herbs as well as rare mountain flora. The restoration work was In the district of San Tomaso carried out by volunteers in just outside Valmadrera, consultaton with experts in the Museum of country keeping with the layout of a life is located in a typical traditional convent garden. farm building where there is The original division of the a collection of the most garden into four large squares commonly used farm and was retained and some household tools and modifi cations were made to implements used in the Lecco area from the 19th century Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries the internal paths to better allow close observation of onwards. In the renovated the plants. These are planted farm buildings, the museum in family groups (labiatae, has organised exhibits around compositae, umbelliferae, the traditional farming rosaceae, graminacea, etc.), calendar, starting on 11th bearing in mind their natural November, the feastday of habitat (sun, partial shade, San Martino. The fi rst room wetland, soil quality), along displays equipment used guidelines provided by in the autumn like ploughs, the Director of the Rezia seeders and tools for Botanic Garden of Bormio, woodcutting and viticulture Prof. Fornaciari. The garden while in the second room currently boasts about 450 there are implements used species; new areas have in the dairy, for cheese- been planted with aquatic plants and local wildfl owers. Each making, and there is a an extensive exhibit on bee- plant is identifi ed with a plaque bearing its common name, keeping and women’s work. Latin name and family (with a red dot for poisonous or highly A reconstruction of a kitchen toxic plants). The mission of the botanic garden is research, and bedroom on the propagation and identifi cation of medicinal and aromatic mezzanine fl oor shows the plants, promotion of events and courses on themes relating simplicity of life in the past to herbs (health, diet, cosmetics and cultivation), the creation in a typical rural dwelling. of a permanent botanical observatory open to the public, and cultural exchange with other public and private gardens. Museum of country life of San Tomaso Loc. S. Tomaso – 23851 Valmadrera Valmadrera Botanic Garden Opening times: from March to Novemberthe fi rst and the third Centro Culturale Fatebenefratelli - 23851 Valmadrera Sunday of the month 10.00-12.00 a.m. and 1.30-5.00 p.m. Opening times: Saturday afternoon 2.00-6.00 p.m. from Guided tours: 0341.581814 (CPS Valmadrera) March to October; other days by appointment For info: tel. 0341.240724 int. 2 For info: tel. 0341.581960 - 348.8826415 www.comunitamontana.lc.it; www.visitaroundlecco.it www.visitaroundlecco.it www.ecomuseomontilaghibriantei.it 54 55 From the slopes of Cornizzolo 99.. to the lakes of Brianza

From San Tomaso, and the Still in the centre of Civate, hamlet of Pozzo in Civate, with the entrance from the the trail leads to a fl at open church square, the Casa space where the basilica of del Pellegrino or Pilgrim’s San Pietro stands beside the House was a hospice for the oratory of San Benedetto. sick and a hostel for wayfarers The complex is one of the and pilgrims on their way to most important heritage the abbey of San Pietro al sites in Lombardy, renowned for the complexity and originality Monte. On the fi rst fl oor, there is a cycle of frescos illustrating of its Romanesque buildings which still retain their original the activities and pastimes of the cultured and wealthy with stylistic and formal coherence and a cycle of frescos and bas scenes from the hunt and the pleasures of life at court. reliefs the like of which is hard to fi nd anywhere in Europe. Casa del Pellegrino (Pilgrim’s House) Basilica of San Pietro al Monte and Via Cà Nova, 12 - 23862 Civate Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries Oratory of San Benedetto For info and visits: 334.1334856 Associazione Luce Nascosta Loc. San Pietro – 23862 Civate www.lucenascosta.it For info and visits: tel. 346.3066590 www.amicidisanpietro.it

The new 18 kilometre cycle path along the shore The Brianza hills with their natural, environmental, of Lake Annone di Brianza encompasses the historical and artistic beauty, mid-way between municipalities of Civate, Galbiate, Oggiono, Annone the provinces of Lecco and Como are the location di Brianza and and is part of the wider for the Ecomuseum of the Brianza Hill and Lake regional project called the “Ciclovia dei laghi” or District which proposes nine itineraries on the Lake Cycle Trail, a network of itineraries criss-crossing trail of architctural and environmental gems. the provinces of Lecco, Como and Varese. Ecomuseum of the Brianza Hill and Lake District Centro visitatori Ciclopedonale del For info: 0341.295542 For info: 031.655715 (Comune di Suello) www.provincia.lecco.it www.comune.suello.lc.it

In the square of the same name in the centre of Civate, the church of San Calocero was built in the 11th century on the foundations of a previous building and is part of a bigger Monte Cornizzolo is a green outcrop with a rounded complex which is now a retirement home called “Casa del profi le situated on the south-eastern end of Lake Cieco”, the House of the Blind. While it retains its original Como. This mountain is at the meeting point of seven Romanesque features, the church was subsequently extended municipal administrations (, Eupilio, Longone when a great crypt and oratory were built. There is a cycle al Segrino, Pusiano, Civate, Suello and Valmadrera), of eloquent 12th century frescos commissioned by Archbishop two Mountain Communities (Triangolo Lariano and Arnolfo III who was buried here in 1097. Lario Orientale) and two Provinces (Lecco and Como). Church of San Calocero (Casa del Cieco) Also known by the name “Pedale”, it offers breathtaking Via Nazario Sauro, 5 – 23862 Civate views over the Prealps and Brianza as far as the For info and visits: 334.1334856 Po Valley and the Appenine mountains. www.suoreismc.it, www.lucenascosta.it 56 57 From the slopes of Cornizzolo and the green 99.. to the lakes of Brianza 110.0. hills of Brianza

Bulciago 28

27 The Baptistry of San Giovanni Battista in Oggiono is one of the few baptistries with a central fl oor plan which still retains clear

Romanesque architectural features. Built around 4 Sartirana Cicognola the year 1100 on the site of an older Pagnano Imbersago building from the Late Middle Ages, in 1731 19 6 Merate it was transformed into a sacristy for the nearby Chiesa plebana of Sant’Eufemia. There are painted decorations which date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. 29 Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries CIVIC MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY DON M. AMBROSIONI 6 Brera Astronomical Observatory - seat of Merate Built on the site of a Benedictine oratory, the Nature Reserve of Lake Sartirana - Merate Church of San Giorgio in Annone di Brianza Regional Park of Montevecchia and Curone Valley is typical of the local Late Gothic style. There Sabbioncello Convent - Merate is a cycle of frescos believed to be by the Master FONDAZIONE GIUSEPPE MOZZANICA 19 - Pagnano (Merate) of the Sforza Altarpiece. SiMPLe Ways Sites Itineraries Interesting Adda Nord Regional Park Villas and ancient houses -Merate HOUSE MUSEUM I TRE TETTI 27 - Sirtori LITTLE MUSEUM OF COUNTRY TRADITIONS 28 - AIA DI VERDERIO - MUSEUM OF COUNTRY LIFE 29 - Verderio In the wake of extensive renovation work, the Recommended time for the visit: 1/3 days lakeside promenade in Malgrate has become a popular meeting point to pass the time, take a stroll or go for a cycle. P 1 sq ✎

The typical product that you can enjoy in this area is the Situated in a classroom of the boarding school Collegio potato of Annone, used in the past as an alternative to “Alessandro Manzoni”, the Civic Museum of Natural cereals and present in this area already in the nineteenth History Don M. Ambrosioni in Merate boasts a signifi cant century. collection donated by professor Don Michelangelo Ambrosioni, a teacher in the school from 1891 to 1935 as well as an To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: avid collector. Originally intended as a teaching resource for www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare schools in the area, the museum has a large collection of For accommodation: around 2100 exhibits in display cases with explanatory www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire panels. In the great hall on the fi rst fi rst fl oor there is the 58 59 Merate and the green 110.0. hills of Brianza

collection of minerals and Villa San Rocco, once a Capuchin convent and convalescent the paleontology collection home for offi cials during the Great War, is now home to which includes some the Merate branch of the Brera Astronomical Observatory. fascinating fossils of plants It was founded in response to the increase in interference and animals found in the from public lighting and the vibrations caused by the Lecco area. The zoological fi rst tram lines which caused a rapid deterioration in section deals with naturalised observation conditions in Brera. In 1926 therefore, some animals displayed according observation instruments were transported to Merate for to biological classification installation, including a modern telescope – a Zeiss refl ector and habitat and is located in with a mirror 102 cm in diameter and a focal length of the two side rooms. There 5 metres which Italy had obtained from Germany in part is a remarkable malacological payment for war damages under the Treaty of Versailles. collection. On the second Brera Astronomical Observatory - Seat of Merate Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries floor of the Museum the Info for schools: 039.5971016, www.brera.inaf.it/scuole visitors can see the For reservations and observations visits: 039.5971100 petrographical collection www.brera.inaf.it and three large display cases devoted to botany and physics. A room named after the Italo-Canadian Commandant Giacinto The Nature Reserve of Lake Sartirana extends Lazzarini, a secret agent over an area of about 24 hectares in the Municipality and coordinator of a number of Merate. A path, accessible only on foot, runs for of partisan groups who, in 2 kilometres along the shores of Lake Sartirana, that April 1945, managed to like an enormous pond but is actually an intramorenic prevent a heavy air raid on lake and a typical feature of the Brianza countryside. the Merate area. This room Nature Reserve of Lake Sartirana houses the historical section Orari di visita: dalle 06.00 alle 22.00. L’accesso alla on the Resistance and there Riserva è consentito tutto l’anno. are personal effects and For info: www.lagodisartirana.it documents from the Lazzarini archive as well as war relics and publications on the The Regional Park of Montevecchia and Valle del Curone history of the Resistance. nature reserve coincides with the far boundary of the green Civic Museum of area in southeastern Brianza. A highly diversifi ed area, it includes Natural History Don M. areas of major environmental interest but also urban areas, Ambrosioni industrial estates, farmland and architectures of great artistic Via Collegio Manzoni, 45 – 23807 Merate and cultural value such as the Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine Opening times: Tuesday 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. / Thursday del Carmelo in Montevecchia, a settlement dating back to 2.30-5.30 p.m. / Saturday 9.30-12.30 a.m. Roman times when it was a lookout post guarding the Brianza For info, visits and educational workshops: 039.9903147 hills. This role is refl ected in fact in the origins of the place www.comune.merate.lc.it name “Mons Vigiliarum” (mount of the lookout post). 60 61 Merate and the green 110.0. hills of Brianza

well as the pieces of sculpture (about 260 in all), the Between Parco di Montevecchia and Parco del collection also includes Monte Barro there is a path linking the southern drawings and paintings by end of the province of Lecco with the town itself, the artist as well as a a trail almost 35 kilometres long which can also major series of photographic be broken up into sections. It starts in the municipality plates: a corpus of 183 of crosses the hill of Montevecchia and elements which illustrate from there heads up the slopes of Monte di Brianza. the artist’s working method From there it follows the ridge of San Genesio and which was based on comes back down the saddle of Galbiate to wind observation of reality with around Monte Barro and fi nally descend to Lecco. few concessions to Il Sentierone ornamentation or reticence.

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries Parco di Montevecchia e della Valle del Curone Giuseppe Mozzanica Loc. Butto, 1 – 23874 Montevecchia Foundation For info: 039.9930384 - www.parcocurone.it Vicolo Chiuso, 5 23807 Merate Fraz. Pagnano For info: 039.9900706 Q info@ fondazionegiuseppemozzanica.it P 1 sq ✎ www.fondazionegiuseppemozzanica.it

The Giuseppe Mozzanica Foundation in Pagnano, a district of Merate, was founded to preserve and promote the work of a sculptor and painter who One of the few religious complexes which still has was reclusive and averse to an active community and where the daily routines publicity, driven by a deeply of convent life is marked by strict observance of the Rule, the Sabbioncello Convent in Merate has ethical idea of artistic work close ties with the history of the Franciscan order rather than aesthetic notions. in Lombardy, and in particular with the repercussions Set up in 2007, the heart of the of the Lutheran Reformation in the Roman Catholic Foundation is the gallery of world. plaster casts, a treasure chest and workshop commissioned Sabbioncello Convent. Ordine dei Frati Minori by the artist himself in the Via S. Antonio, 5 – 23807 Merate Fifties in the courtyard of For info: 039.9902027 his home. Here there is a www.sabbioncello.com display of plaster casts but also works in marble, bronze and terracotta executed between the 1920s and Just over three kilometres from Merate the Adda the 1960s, a testimony to Nord Regional Park has a famous ferry designed the vigorous and coherent and built by Leonardo da Vinci which connects studies of the sculptor. As 62 63 Merate and the green 110.0. hills of Brianza

landscape designed by the Lecco shore with the Bergamo side of the Giorgio Riva for this hilltop River Adda. Along the banks of the river in in Montevecchia park. At Imbersago, there is also a Leonardo da Vinci that time of day, the 3 Tetti Ecomuseum, a nature trail with 14 stations and is like a balcony overlooking 47 stopoff points to discover the mark left by the dazzling lights on the Leonardo on the extraordinary landscape of the valley fl oor. The lights of middle section of the River Adda. Milan, the stars, and, when it Parco Adda Nord rises, the moon, all form part For info: www.parcoaddanord.it of the composition. But then there are the sounds too: verses from Dante, Homer and Shoenberg’s Pierrot,

Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries or voices, notes and noises In the past centuries the city of Merate was making acoustic trajectories chosen as a favourite holiday place, fi rst by some among the branches of the of the great noble family and later also by the trees, an overwhelming bourgeoisie, especially from Milan. Today you can series of multi-sensorial see many beautiful old villas: Villa Baslini, Villa and sinesthetic stimuli. The Crespi, Villa Cornaggia, Villa de Ferrari-Bagatti, museum was designed to Villa Dal Verme, Villa Greppi, Villa Lavezzani. form a network of different Among the most signifi cant there are Villa pathways, each of which is Belgiojoso, Villa Subaglio e Villa Confalonieri. constellated with signs, forms The latter, owned by the city, with its park open and symbols which the hand of to the public can be visited on request toghether the artist has deconstructed with others. and subtracted from its For info: Proloco, Via Roma 11, 23807 Merate habitual codes and meanings Tel. 039.9901323 - e-mail:[email protected] to reveal other possible links of interconnection. And it recomposes them in a weird, metamorphical universe where 1 sq the spaces, geometric shapes, P letters of the alphabet and even punctuation marks are The 3 Tetti Museum in Sirtori is quite unique in that the presented and interwoven works on display are not presented as exhibits but rather as as if they were characters part of a complex whole through which the visitor strolls. created for the immediate Landscape art, light art, architecture, sculpture, painting and experience of all the senses, design are seamlessly interwoven with poetry and music and as if it were theatre. The a spatialization of sound in order to construct a polysemic magic of the place consists whole where the real protagonist is the metalanguage of the way in which the uniting them. The museum opens at sunset when the “light very purity of the shapes sculptures” stand out against the shadows in the nocturnal and beauty of the images 64 65 Merate and the green 110.0. hills of Brianza

is used in a simple almost intuitive approach even in the most complex syntax and spatial designs. Edi Minguzzi, 1 sq ✎ designated president of the nascent museum, offers the P following explanation of the inspiration for 3 Tetti: “To the eye of the artist, the world reveals, together with events, their This complex, once used for beginning, together with words, their matrix. This is what drying grain, was designed by the architect Gaetano lies behind the art of Giorgio Riva: inventing fantastic spaces Besia of Domodossola. In in the universal language of metamorphosis and polysemy”. 1857 the building was The architectural project for Tre Tetti goes back as far as 1969, recorded in the land registry the fi rst sculpures and trellis hedges are from the ’90s, the and it was inaugurated in fi rst Light Sculpture show was in 2005, and since 2012 there 1863. The main building has been a series of exhibitions and concerts every summer. was used for sales offi ces The mobile architecture of theTeatrino dell’Erba Maderna dates whereas the yard was where Itineraries SiMPLe Ways Itineraries back to 2014. the farm workers spread out House Museum I Tre Tetti the grain to dry in the sun. Via Belvedere - 23896 Sirtori In 2004 it was purchased by www.giorgiorivaopere.it the Verderio family, owners of Coverd, and renovated in order to house the head offices of their company 1P sq ✎ which deals with natural bioarchitecture materials and technologies. The courtyard, The Museum of Country paved in granite slabs, houses Tradition in Bulciago has a the Museum of Country collection of everyday objects Life which reconstructs fi ve from rural life, illustrating environments to illustrate the lifestyles and working the way people once lived life in this area between through a large collection of orginal tools and everyday items the late 19th and early 20th from the late 19th and early 20th century. century. Aia di Verderio - Museum of Country Life Via Sernovella, 1 - 23879 Verderio Museum of Country For info: 039.512487 Tradition in Bulciago [email protected], www.coverd.it Via Parini 23892 Bulciago The typical products that you can enjoy in this area are www.piccolomuseodibulciago.blogspot.it fresh or seasoned cheeses produced with goat milk and the wines of the Montevecchia area. To enjoy this speciality visit the web site: www.lakecomo.com/dove_mangiare For accommodation: www.lakecomo.com/dove_dormire 66 67 Itineraries 1. Upper San Martino Valley pag. 2 2. On the banks of the River Adda pag. 7 3. Along the lake shore from Abbadia to Lierna pag. 13 4. Varenna and Bellano from the villages to the Grigna pag. 20 mountain 5. History and nature on the upper Lake pag. 27 4 6. On the mountains of Muggiasca, Val Varrone and Piani pag. 34 Resinelli 8 7. In Valsassina pag. 40 8. Il Monte Barro and Alta Brianza pag. 46 9. From the slopes of Cornizzolo to the Lakes of Brianza pag. 53 23 7 10. Merate and the green hills of Brianza pag. 59 12 Reading notes 25 Insights 2 on places of interest Nature Itinerary 13 Museums 18 10 1 Ca’ Martì: The Museum and the Stonemasons’ Valley - Museo Etnografi co - Carenno 2 Villa Monastero House Museum and Botanical Garden - Museo Storico-Artistico - Varenna 24 17 3 Monti Civic Silk Museum - Museo del Lavoro - Abbadia Lariana 4 Forte di Montecchio - Museo Storico - Colico 21 22 5 Barro Archaeological Museum - Museo Storico - Galbiate 16 6 Civic Museum of Natural History Don M. Ambrosioni - Museo Naturalistico-Scientifi co - Merate 3 7 Muu Museum of Milk and of the History of Muggiasca - Museo Etnografi co - Vendrogno 8 Museum of Rural Culture - Museo Etnografi co - Colico S. Tomaso Museum of Country Life - Museo Etnografi co - S. Tomaso, Valmadrera 9 9 26 10 Grigne Museum - Museo Naturalistico-Scientifi co - Esino Lario 11 Ethnographic Museum of Upper Brianza - Museo Etnografi co - Galbiate 5 12 Premana Etnographic Museum - Museo Etnografi co - Premana 13 Luigi Scanagatta Ornithological and Natural History Museum - Naturalistico-Scientifi co - Varenna 11 20 14 Parish Museum San Lorenzo Don Carlo Villa - Museo Storico-Artistico - Rossino di Calolziocorte 14 15 Villa De Ponti Botanical Garden - Museo Naturalistico-Scientifi co - Calolziocorte 16 Parco Museo Minerario - Museo del Lavoro - Piani Resinelli 28 15 1 17 Giannino Castiglioni Museum - Museo Storico-Artistico - Lierna 27 18 Parish Liturgical and Ethnographic Museum - Museo Storico-Artistico - Moggio 19 Fondazione Giuseppe Mozzanica - Museo Storico-Artistico - Merate 19 20 Abegg Silk Museum - Museo del Lavoro - Garlate 6 21 Moto Guzzi Museum - Museo del Lavoro - Mandello del Lario 22 Maggiana Tower Museum - Museo Etnografi co - Maggiana 23 La Cà dei Radio Vecc Museum - Museo del Lavoro - Bellano 24 Morterone Museum of Contemporary Art - Museo Storico-Artistico - Morterone 25 Primaluna Museum - Museo Etnografi co - Primaluna 29 26 Botanic Garden - Museo Naturalistico-Scientifi co - Valmadrera 27 House Museum I Tre Tetti - Museo Storico-Artistico - Sirtori 28 Little Museum of Country Traditions - Museo Etnografi co - Bulciago 29 Aia di Verderio: Museum of Country Life - Museo Etnografi co - Verderio