The Rifugio Luigi Brioschi is the CAI Milano hut a few metres from the summit of the Grigna Settentrionale, the Grignone: a base for climbs and a viewpoint over the whole Alpine arc, open at weekends all year and every day in summer.
History
The Capanna Grigna Vetta was inaugurated on 10 October 1895 by CAI Milan, to a design by the engineer Giannino Ferrini; Wikipedia considers it the second summit hut on the Italian side of the Alps, after the one on Monte Rosa. It has had its present name since 1926, when an enlargement funded mainly by Luigi Brioschi, by then in his eighties, made it larger: Brioschi was a pioneer of Lombard mountaineering and president of the Milan section, and the CAI remembers him for the first ascent of the Nordend of Monte Rosa in 1876. In 1944 it was burned and demolished, and rebuilt in 1948. Today’s building is the result of a major enlargement in 1995, led by Fulvio Aurora.
What to see
From the hut, and from the cross just above, the panorama takes in the western Alpine arc as far as Monte Rosa and, according to QuiComo, the plain and the big Lombard lakes. Near the cross is a cylinder listing the visible peaks, their height and the direction to look, from Monviso and Gran Paradiso to Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn, the Jungfrau and the Bernina (Diska). The dining room seats about 40.
Getting there
The busiest route in summer is the “via della Ganda” from the Cainallo, above Esino Lario (path 25): about 3 hours and 1,000 metres of ascent, passing the Bogani hut and a final stretch of about 100 metres of ascent with chains (Wikipedia). At the Cainallo it is best to buy the parking ticket before driving up to the Vò di Moncodeno (eccoLecco). From the Valsassina, the route given by CAI Milano starts just before the Colle di Balisio (723 m): a dirt road passable by car leads to the Sacred Heart chapel (882 m, parking), then a mule track leads in about an hour to the Antonietta hut, at the Pialeral, and from there, passing the Merlini bivouac, to the ridge and the hut, in about 3.5 hours; the Region’s portal gives 4 hours and 1,600 metres from the Colle di Balisio. In winter, with good snow cover, you climb from the Pialeral north-west to a barn and then along the slope and the ridge following the poles. Times, difficulty and trail conditions change with the season and should be checked before setting out (CAI, hut manager, weather forecast).
Practical information
- Height: 2,403 metres according to CAI Milano and the Region, 2,410 according to Wikipedia and QuiComo. The hut is in the municipality of Pasturo; this page is linked to Mandello del Lario, like the Grigna Settentrionale.
- Custodian (CAI Milano): Alex Torricini. Beds: 34 according to CAI Milano and a travel site, 27 according to the regional portal, 36 according to Wikipedia.
- Opening according to CAI Milano: all year at weekends and, in summer, from mid-June to mid-September; with bad-weather forecasts it is best to phone. Phone +39 0341 910498, site rifugiobrioschi.com.
Sources
- CAI Milano, Rifugio Brioschi
- Diska, Rifugio Brioschi and AlbumViaggi, Rifugio Brioschi
- QuiComo, Rifugio Brioschi, una vetta da paura sul Lago di Como (10 September 2026) and eccoLecco, Dal Cainallo al Rifugio Bogani
- Rifugi di Lombardia portal of the Region, consulted on 2 October 2026; Wikipedia, Rifugio Luigi Brioschi entry.