The Bisbino (1,325 metres) is the first big height you meet going up the Como branch: it stands on the border with the canton of Ticino, above Cernobbio, and is a favourite of hikers, cyclists and pilgrims; on top are a Marian sanctuary and an alpine refreshment point.
History
According to tradition, until the 14th century the top was pointed: shepherds are said to have levelled it, using the rock to make a terrace and a small chapel for the Madonna, which also offered shelter from bears and storms. The first church on the summit is attested by a deed of sale of 26 July 1368. The sanctuary’s fame dates from 1630, during the plague: the faithful climbed in procession to the Madonna of Bisbino, promising to return every first Wednesday of the month, for twelve months, if the contagion spared them; the communities came through the epidemic safely and pilgrims grew ever more numerous. Wikipedia places the building of the present church in the 15th century, replacing an older shrine, and mentions inside a 17th-century Madonna in white marble and many votive offerings.
In 1916, during the First World War, the Italian army occupied the summit and built a road that in part follows the old mule tracks, with two kilometres of solid fortifications climbing up to the sanctuary: it was a stretch of the Northern Frontier, the Cadorna line. In those years the road from Rovenna, past the cemetery, up to the summit was opened; trenches can be seen below the top, restored in 2011 (Wikipedia).
What to see
The summit holds the sanctuary (which one guide calls the sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta), the Ristoro Alpino Vetta Bisbino at 1,325 metres and a weather station. The view ranges over the lake, the Varese Prealps and the plain; on clear days, Wikipedia writes, the Apennines and Monviso can be seen. Among the natural curiosities Wikipedia cites are the Buco della Volpe, a cave over 2,600 metres long, and the little cluster of houses of the monti di Madrona.
Getting there
By car you start from the centre of Cernobbio along via Volta, which becomes via della Libertà, and climb with about ten panoramic hairpins to the hamlet of Rovenna; after the cemetery you continue in a wood of conifers, birches and chestnuts, passing the monti di Madrona and viewpoints, to a clearing at 1,300 metres, about fifteen kilometres from Cernobbio: a flight of steps climbs to the sanctuary. A Living Cernobbio guide estimates half an hour by car to Rovenna but urges you to climb on foot or by bike. On foot from the centre of Cernobbio you can follow via Monte Grappa to the church of San Nicola at Casnedo, then via Colonna to Rovenna and the church of San Michele Arcangelo, and from there via Segantini and the woodland path: about three and a quarter hours in all. Another route follows the Via dei Monti Lariani (waymark a red-white-red flag with the number 1) from the car park in via della Libertà (220 m), on a stepped mule track through Stimianico: the road and the mule track cross ten times, and there is good parking only at Rovenna (442 m) and Madrona (840 m). Times, difficulty and trail conditions change with the season and should be checked before setting out (CAI, hut managers, weather forecast).
Practical information
- Height: 1,325 metres (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikipedia, Living Cernobbio).
- The mountain touches the territories of Carate Urio, Cernobbio, Maslianico and Moltrasio in Italy and of Breggia, Chiasso and Vacallo in Switzerland (Wikipedia).
- We have no up-to-date official source for the opening hours of the sanctuary and the refreshment point: according to Le Vie del Viandante the sanctuary opens on Sundays.
- To continue on foot along the Via dei Monti Lariani: the Murelli hut and Monte Colmegnone.
Sources
- Le Vie del Viandante, Santuario della Beata Vergine del Monte Bisbino
- Taste & Travel Magazine, Monte Bisbino (April 2020)
- Diska, Santuario e Ristoro Alpino Vetta Bisbino and Living Cernobbio, Alla scoperta del Monte Bisbino (2021)
- Wikipedia, Monte Bisbino entry; Wikidata and OpenStreetMap.