Location
Dervio lies on the eastern shore of the lake, about thirty kilometres north of Lecco, in a cone-shaped area shaped by the Varrone stream.
History
Celtic and Roman settlements have left traces across the area. Around the year 1000, a possession of the Archbishop of Milan, it was drawn into the wars between the “three pievi” and the war between Como and Milan; at the time it also included Dorio and the Val Varrone, which separated from it from the mid-14th century. Under Austrian rule it developed thanks to the iron industry and the mines of the upper Varrone valley.
What to see
- Corenno Plinio: a miniature fortified village with the Castello Andreani (a quadrangular fortress documented since the 11th century) and the church of San Tommaso di Canterbury with the funerary monuments of the Andreani family; a small beach with an old harbour.
- Castello di Orezia: an 11th-century tower in the hamlet of the same name.
- Lakefront: a neoclassical dock designed by Luigi Cagnola and the 16th-century Villa Capona.
- Beaches: the Dervio beach, valued for its water quality, and the Foppa beach to the north.
What to do
A stretch of the Sentiero del Viandante passes through Dervio; for more demanding hikes, the Valvarrone leads to Monte Legnoncino and Monte Legnone, the highest peak in the province of Lecco. Winds from north and south make Dervio well suited to sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing.
Getting there
A forty- to fifty-minute train ride from Lecco, on the Trenord Lecco-Colico-Sondrio line (R13), reaches Dervio station; by car, the town is reached via the SS36.
Festivities
29 June, Saints Peter and Paul, patron saints of Dervio.