Lake Pusiano, also called Eupili or Casletto, is a lake of the Brianza: a basin of glacial origin between the provinces of Como and Lecco, closed to the north by the slopes of the Cornizzolo, with an island of cypresses, 18th-century villas and a long history of poets and painters.
History
The lake was born when the glacier that covered much of the Brianza withdrew, and was once one with the nearby Lake Alserio (UPEL, Wikipedia). The first written testimony is from Pliny the Elder, who in the Naturalis historia (1st century AD) mentions the lake “Eupili”. In 1314 a deed split the lake: two thirds to the Archbishop of Milan and one to the Monza collegiate church of San Giovanni Battista; from 1588 to 1765 it belonged to the Carpani family (Wikipedia). Since 1811 a regulating work, the Cavo Diotti, controls the outflow towards the Lambro valley and is managed by the Valle del Lambro Regional Park, which includes the whole basin; the lake is also a site of Community interest (Exploratori della Domenica). On the 18th-century shores villas arose that attracted Parini, Monti, Porta, Manzoni, Stendhal and Segantini: Giuseppe Parini published in the lake’s honour his first book of poems under the pseudonym Ripano Eupilino, and Segantini painted it in Ave Maria a trasbordo.
What to see
Seven municipalities face the water: Rogeno, Bosisio Parini and Cesana Brianza on the Lecco side, Pusiano, Eupilio, Erba and Merone on the Como side; see the pages of Pusiano, Eupilio and Erba. The measurements vary with the source: maximum depth of 27 metres according to Diska and Exploratori della Domenica and 24.3 metres according to the Fisionomie Lariane atlas; altitude of 257 or 259 metres; surface of about 5 square kilometres. The Lambro is both inflow, as the Lambrone, and outflow, towards the south-west.
About 150 metres from the north shore is the small Isola dei Cipressi, oval and private (for UPEL “private but visitable”). At Pusiano the Beauharnais palace was meant for the holidays of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleonic viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy (Wikipedia). At Rogeno there is a lakefront promenade with an art installation by Danilo Panzeri, with the Madonnina del Lago, a Crucifix and the Tree of Life, and the Punta di Corno beach, among the few bathable stretches of the lake, from where two nature trails start, with information boards and wooden sculptures; at Eupilio the old church of San Lorenzo keeps fresco cycles of different periods (UPEL). Among the reeds live carp, pike and perch; on the banks ducks, coots, moorhens and mallards.
Practical information
- Fishing: Wikipedia writes that it is only allowed with release of the fish (no kill); fishing and navigation rights are managed by a company (Exploratori della Domenica, which reproduces a statement from the company itself).
- Rowing: people row on the lake, with two rowing centres, and since 2012 the Bosisio association has organised the lake crossing, on courses of 1.2 and 2.4 kilometres (Wikipedia).
- From the Bosisio shore you can take a trip on a municipal boat (Wikipedia, not verified on an up-to-date official source).
- Walking along the shore: according to Diska there is not always a path and to the north runs the busy SP 639, so a complete walk round the coast is not possible. For cycling we found no official card for a complete loop: the guide Lake Como by Bicycle explains it. The visiting stops around the lake are in the Anello del Lago di Pusiano itinerary.