castles-and-ruins near Mamma Ciccia Albergo Diffuso
The church is located next to the parish church of SS. Quirico e Giulitta and is accessed by three steps. It dates from the fourteenth century and was enlarged with the construction of two bays in the middle of the sixteenth century. Noteworthy are...
The church of St. George is located in Bellagio, next to City Hall. It is contemporary with the Basilica of St. James, dating back to ' XI - XII century (dated between 1080 and 1120). Originally the apse and altar were facing east; but then moved...
With origins in the 17th century and remodelled later with an image of the patron saint on the facade by Bernardino Barelli. Noteworthy are the altar sculptures, frescoes, stucco, oil paintings, a Renaissance tabernacle and the wooden reliquary...
Although early in Christian origin, this church collapsed due to erosion at the end of the 16th century and was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style. Of note, are lavish frescos, sculpture wooden inlaid furniture and a stone font presbytery....
The San Tomaso Park occupies the lower foothills of the ridge of Corno Birone (1,116 m), Mount Rai (1,250 m), Mount Prà Santo (1,245 m) and the Colma di Val Ravella (939 m). The park offers a beautiful landscape from just a short distance from the...
Parish church built in the sixteenth century and later remodeled. The choir has a fresco by painter G. Quaglio. Next to the parish is the Oratory dedicated to Santa Marta with a fascinating frescoed facade in bas-relief from the sixteenth century,...
Located in a beautiful natural setting surrounded by quiet woods and stately lime trees, on a plateau halfway up the mountain Pìnzernone. The shrine is dedicated to a young martyr of the fourth century; who is always represented with weapons, in...
Originated in the eleventh century as a building with a single nave, then it changed to three in the following centuries. The church has beautiful statues, decorated with low and high stucco relief and valuable fresco paintings from the 17 and 18th...
This parish church rebuilt between 1725 and 1738, is a remarkable example of Baroque art. Inside, in addition to the frescoes of Luigi Tagliaferro, is a valuable painting of the "Madonna of the Seven Sorrows" and a wooden statue of Lorenzo Matieli...
In the hills of Tremezzo is the town of Rogaro whose old centre consists of 18th century homes grouped around the Baroque church dedicated to Mary. The church houses the famous wooden statue known as the Black Madonna which is said to have been...
Located at the cemetery, along the old path leading to Lanzo, it is among the most significant monuments of Valle Intelvi. The church stands on a site in itself archaeologically interesting: during work to reinforce embankments Roman tombs of...
The Sacred Mount of Ossuccio is one of the nine sacri monti in the Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont which were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2003. The devotional complex is located on a prealpine crag some 200...
The church was built in the 11th Century but has been almost comepletely rebuilt in the 17th century. Inside there are splendid coloured "scagliole". In the Intelvi Valley the Maestri Intelvesi used a special material called “scagliola” or false...
The church of St. Agatha is opposite to the parish of St. Stephen and is oriented to the west. It is a small building with gabled facade, two bays, two niches in the first bay, two chapels rectangular plan in the second and a presbytery with a...
On the ancient road that ran through the Val d'Intelvi, between Biazzeno and Dizzasco stands the parish church SS. Pietro and Paolo with its tall bell tower. It stands on a hillock with a wide view of the lake. The bell tower stands apart from the...
The church stands on the lake but you can also reach it from the antique center via small alleyways and steps. Next to the bell tower the original Romanseque bell tower can still be seen....
Right at the beginning of the town of Castiglione, with the green Intelvi valley as a back ground, stands the oratory of the Madonna del Restello built in the 17th century to thank the Madonna for the end of a plague that had infested the valley....
The parish church is located next to the historical centre of the village of Griante. It was built at the beginning of the 18th century on the site of an ancient temple, that was probably consecrated by St. Felice, bishop of Como. The church has a...
Parish church built in the sixteenth century and later remodeled. The choir has a fresco by painter G. Quaglio. Next to the parish is the Oratory dedicated to Santa Marta with a fascinating frescoed facade in bas-relief from the sixteenth century,...
The monastery is located about 800 m above sea level, on the southern slope of Mount Galbiga, at the confluence of two tributary valleys of the stream Perlana, from which it takes its name. The place, evocative and isolated, has meant that the...
This building is the parish church of Ossuccio and was built after the church bearing the same name, situated on the Comacina Island. It dates back to the 12th century and during the restoration works of 1959 many parts of the Romanesque building...
The church of Saints Peter and Paul was believed to have been founded in the eleventh century by Bishop Rainald and consecrated in 1095 by Pope Urban II, who was traveling to Clermont-Ferrand to call the first crusade. Over the centuries, the...
The Church of Saints Nazario and Celso is just a short walk away from the waters of Lake Como, near the harbor in the old town of Brienno. Some documents attest to the presence of a church since the end of the thirteenth century, the Romanesque...
This church is located in the village Nobiallo just north of Menaggio. The houses are clustered around the church which stands on the Antica Strada Regina, the antique Roman Road that connected Como with Alpine passes. The characteristic leaning...
The church S. Marta is of ancient origins. On the facade you can see the Roman memorial plaque of Minicio Exorato, a notable of the Roman empire; above it the town-arms. Inside the church there are some interesting paintings of the 17th century....
The parish church of S. Stefano is of very ancient origins whose original Roman structures have however been lost; in fact the orientation itself is in the opposite direction of its primitive setting. The church has three naves which, in 1899, were...
The church stands in the beautiful small square of the village Barna. It was built as a Parish church in 1636. The inside presents itself with one nave and three side chapels....
Next to Lenno’s parish church is the baptistery, dating back to the second half of the 11th century and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. The outside is simple and plain, with a square bell-tower and an apse on the north side. On the left side...
This Romanesque church with emblematic bell tower was once a lodging for pilgrims making their way to Rome along Lake Como’s western shore. The history of the church has always been bound with contiguous ancient medieval hospice. The single nave...
Parish church of Argegno made with Moltrasio stone in the Neo-romanic Style. A construction in neo-Romanesque style with a gabled facade enhanced by a rose window depicting saints. On the front of the church is a mosaic of the four Evangelists, the...
This little Romanesque church is built directly on the lake and still preserves its original structure. Worth seeing is not only the sail bell tower, but also the several traces of frescoes on the internal and external walls, among which stands out...
The parish church of St. Abbondio rises isolated on the western side of the village of Mezzegra, with its majestic front facing the lake. It was probably founded in the 12th century in Romanesque style, then rebuilt in 1702 by local emigrants and...
The parish church stands in the XI Febbraio square, near the baptistery, overlooking the renowned Venere Gulf, from where you are presented with an enchanting view. The church was built in the 5th or 6th century on the ruins of a watering place,...
Located right on the lake in the village of Tremezzo, the church began construction in 1775 and completed in 1896. The inside of the church was painted by Luigi Tagliaferri, who did all the paintings of the chorus and of the vault. The walls were...
This sanctuary is part of a series of shrines along a one kilometer cobble stoned walkway. The shrines depict scenes of the Madonna’s and Christ’s life and are represented by frescos and natural size statues made of stucco and terracotta. The...
Located in the upper part of the village of Lenno. Once it was called monastery of Roncate after the name of the hamlet where it was built, but later it became the “Abbazia dell’Acquafredda" (the ‘Freshwater abbey’), because of a fresh source near...
A perfect morning or afternoon hike with stunning views of Lake Como. San Martino is Lake Como’s most famous mountain church perched on a top a cliff above the town of Griante. Its official name is "Santuario Della Madonna delle Grazie di San...
The Tower is located on a rocky outcrop above the village of Spurano and it was an ancient watchtower, which probably dates back to the 12th century. The fortified structure, included in the difensive system of the Comacina Island, was probably...
Originally a signalling tower, that later became a fortress as documented 1158. There is no information about the proceeding centuries until 1454 when the area fell into the hands of the Republic of Venice and the Adda River became the natural...
The Castle lies on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Como close to Riva Bianca and its namesake beach. Built in the Romanesque period, the fortress was at the focus of several historical events, like the battle between Milan and Como in 1124. It was...
Also called Tower of Barbarossa, stands high over Mandello dating from the twelfth century. The tower has been rebuilt over the years, but retains interesting architectural features like the arched portal, the remains of painted trophies and a...
Volunteers of the Cultural Center Library Bellagio deal with loaning library books and organize various cultural events....
At Mount Cross Ardona (m. 1005), a path splits into two. On the left, is a wooded summit then down along a bumpy ride to the entrance of Castel d'Ardona. To the right, a few bends bring you to same point but the road is much easier (1h 30 'from...
It is thought the tower was built at the behest of Fontanedo Bernabo Visconti in 1357, on the defensive line of Upper Lake, but perhaps it was only enhanced an existing structure. It is located about 700 meters downstream of the village of...
Gate Tower is an imposing fortress, 40 meters high, built in 1192, on the initiative of the mayor Hubert de 'Olevano, to defend the entrance to the city of Como. In the fourteenth century the great tower was flanked by two other pentagonal towers,...
In the medieval center of Villincino, was a fortified town built in the late tenth century. The village was owned by the wealthy family Carpani. The town was destroyed in 1278. The small and picturesque district is accessed by going through a tower,...
It is a private building constructed on roman foundation with an irregular square plant. The building, which has crown walls with battlements to protect the round parapet, can be dated between 1360 and 1370. It is a typical castle-enclosure, which...
Fort Fuentes is a former military fort on the hill of Montecchio or Monteggiolo near Colico, northern Italy. It was built by the Spanish governor of Milan, Don Pedro Enríquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes, to defend the northern border of the Spanish...
Fort Montecchio-Lusardi is a military fort situated in Colico, in the province of Lecco, northern Italy. It was built between 1911 and 1914. It is the only Italian fort from World War I which has been preserved intact with its original weapons. The...
A must see--one of the most beautiful castles on the lake. It is a walled enclusure, developed around a squared tower with restored battlements and a real drawbridge. Additional attractions feature live falconry shows, an exhibition dedicated to the...
Trapezoidal shaped castle with three towers built by counts Della Torre of Rezzonico in 1363. It is described as a "castle-fence", fortifying an area of two thousand square meters which surrounded the town and the main tower. Today the castle is...
Baradello Castle is situated on hill dominating the valley like a stone sentinel watching over the town of Como and Spina Verde Park. The top of the tower provides 360 degree views of the city, the Alps and Po Valley. The fortification was used...
Placed on a hill overlooking the town, the castle was built in late Middle Ages to block the way to Valvarrone and it still remains a well-preserved tower, surrounded by ruins of ancient houses. The first proofs date back to 1039, when it suffered a...