Ramo di Como

Brunate

Brunate: the historic funicular from Como, the Voltiano Lighthouse and panoramic views of the Alps. Discover what to see in Brunate and how to reach it by funicular.

1,794 res.

Carate Urio

Carate Urio, on the western shore of Lake Como: Romanesque churches, the Castello di Urio and the Via dei Monti Lariani. What to see and do in Carate Urio.

1,171 res.

Cernobbio

Cernobbio, the first village on the lake after Como: Villa d'Este, Villa Erba and Monte Bisbino. Discover what to see and do in Cernobbio, Lake Como.

7,031 res.

Como

Como, the provincial capital: the Cathedral, Giuseppe Terragni's rationalist architecture and the funicular to Brunate. A complete guide to what to see and do in Como and on the lake.

84,495 res.

Faggeto Lario

Faggeto Lario, between Como and Nesso: scenic hamlets, beech woods and glimpses of the lake away from mass tourism. What to see in Faggeto Lario.

1,253 res.

Moltrasio

Moltrasio, western shore of Lake Como: Villa Passalacqua, home of Vincenzo Bellini, and exclusive views of the lake. What to see in Moltrasio.

1,593 res.

Pognana Lario

Pognana Lario, between Como and Nesso: a small tranquil village overlooking the lake, among olive groves and panoramic paths. Discover what to see in Pognana Lario.

741 res.

Torno

Torno, on the Como shore: the church of San Giovanni with its Holy Nail relic, Villa Pliniana and a maze of lanes facing the lake. What to see in Torno.

1,180 res.

What to see in this area

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Castello di Urio

A castle on the lake's first western basin, a fief of the Della Porta counts from 1731 and later an Opus Dei retreat house. Acquired in 2024 by the Belmond-LVMH group to become a luxury hotel.

Lido di Faggeto

Small lido with a sandy beach in the Riva hamlet of Faggeto Lario, with a wooden pier-terrace for diving and views over the Como branch of the lake.

Lido di Villa Geno

A historic lido in the heart of Como, reborn as "Giulietta al Lago": a sandy beach, a lawn for sunbathing, a bar and a wooden pier over the water, with views across the bay.

Lido di Villa Olmo

A large lakeside lido in the historic park of Villa Olmo, in Como: two swimming pools, a natural beach, a bar, a restaurant and a long tradition as a venue for events and fashion shows.

Refuges

Rifugio Bugone

A 1,119 m hut above Moltrasio, a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani with a bar-restaurant and overnight stays, open all summer.

Refuges

Rifugio Murelli

A 1,200 m hut on the Via dei Monti Lariani, rebuilt in 2008 after a fire: panoramic lake views, a stop on Stage 1.

Villa Baragiola-Carcano

A nineteenth-century villa in Carate Urio, home from the mid-1800s to the celebrated La Scala ballerina Sofia Fuoco. Later passed to the Viganotti Giusti and Baragiola-Carcano families, it is today a private residence.

Villa Bernasconi

An Art Nouveau villa built in 1905-1906 for silk industrialist Davide Bernasconi, with a rare decorative cycle devoted to the silkworm. Today a public museum in Cernobbio.

Villa Cantaluppi Giuliani

A 1910 Art Nouveau villa on Via Roma, in Brunate's historic centre, decorated with graffito work by the Ghielmetti firm. Now on loan to the municipality and the local Alpini association, it is one of the few village villas open to the public.

Villa d'Este

A 16th-century cardinal's residence transformed by Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, who gave it its present name. Since 1873 a luxury hotel among Italy's "Locali Storici", with a park declared a national monument in 1913.

Villa del Grumello

A former "Castellazzo" surrounded by vineyards, transformed in the 16th century into one of the first holiday villas on Lake Como, where Ugo Foscolo wrote love letters to Francesca Giovio.

Villa Erba

A late 19th-century Neo-Renaissance villa in Cernobbio, summer residence of the Visconti di Modrone family and childhood home of director Luchino Visconti. Now an exhibition and conference centre.

Villa Erba (ex Galoppatoio)

The large lawn of the former Galoppatoio next to Villa Erba, in Cernobbio: now home to the Circolo Vela Cernobbio sailing club, with public access not guaranteed on a daily basis.

Villa Farneti

An Art Nouveau villa with a panoramic tower on Via Giacomo Scalini, built after the First World War, one of the most photographed in Brunate on the path leading up to the Volta Lighthouse.

Villa Ferranti

A neoclassical villa where soprano Giuditta Pasta hosted Bellini and Donizetti: here "La Sonnambula" and "Norma", with its famous "Casta Diva", were composed. Rebuilt in 1906-1910 as Villa Roccabruna, now the heart of the Mandarin Oriental resort.

Villa Fontanella

A yellow neoclassical palazzo in Moltrasio, built in the early nineteenth century by Lord Charles Currie and personally restored by Gianni Versace, who bought it in 1977. For nearly twenty years the designer's hideaway, today a private property.

Villa Gallia

A 17th-century villa on Via Borgovico, built in 1615 on the site of Paolo Giovio's 16th-century "Museo Gioviano" and enlarged in neoclassical style in the 19th century by Simone Cantoni. Today it houses public offices, with a lakeside garden open to visitors free of charge at set times.

Villa Làrio

A luxury complex in Pognana Lario built around a nineteenth-century neoclassical building facing directly onto the lake, flanked by the mini-villas Villa Bianca and Pavilion. An infinity pool and private pier offer westward views.

Villa Marinoni

An Art Nouveau villa built in 1910 by the Belgian countess Nelly Piereard, with original tree-shaped graffito decorations on every chamfered corner, on via Pissarottino in Brunate.

Villa Mylius Cramer

An 18th-century residence of the Artaria family, famed music publishers of Mozart and Beethoven, later remodelled by Giuseppe Balzaretto and by Gottfried Semper for the Mylius and Cramer banking families.

Villa Olmo

An imposing neoclassical villa on the Como lakefront, built between 1797 and 1812 to a design by Simone Cantoni. Now a municipal venue for exhibitions and cultural events, with a public park facing the lake.

Villa Orlandi

An Art Nouveau villa on via Pissarottino in Brunate, with different decorations on each of its four facades. Close to Villa Marinoni, a stop on the village's villa trail.

Villa Passalacqua

An eighteenth-century villa in Moltrasio expanded at the behest of count Passalacqua, with frescoes by Andrea Appiani, it hosted Napoleon and the composer Bellini. Today a luxury hotel, named the world's best in 2023.

Villa Pirotta Bonacossa

A 1902 villa designed by architect Federico Frigerio, known as Brunate's "little Versailles" for its garden with hidden grottoes and raised paths, and for its entrance staircase by Lodovico Pogliaghi.

Villa Pizzo

A 16th-century villa on the headland between Cernobbio and Moltrasio, with Italian and English gardens and avenues of cypresses. Its origins date to 1435; today it belongs to the Lodigiani family.

Villa Pliniana

A sixteenth-century villa in Torno, built in 1573 by count Anguissola around an intermittent spring already described by Pliny two thousand years ago and later studied by Leonardo da Vinci. It hosted Foscolo, Byron, Manzoni and Napoleon; today a resort run by Sereno Properties.

Villa Ripiego

An octagonal villa in Carate Urio built for count Triulzio, refuge of the Duchess of Plaisance after the end of her relationship with the Marquis of Soncino. Later passed to the Viganotti Giusti and Rossini Cazzaniga families.

Villa Rubino

A pre-Art Nouveau villa from 1892 that belonged to the Counts Crespi of Vaprio d'Adda, set in a 1.2-hectare park along via Giacomo Scalini in Brunate.

Villa Scalfi

A private villa on the lakefront between Moltrasio and Carate Urio, next to the old Oratory of San Rocco, along the route of the Primo Bacino boat trip.

Villa Troubetzkoy

A villa-chalet built around 1850 for Russian prince Alexander Troubetzkoy, who blasted the lakeside cliff with dynamite. Abandoned during the 20th century, it was rediscovered in 2009 and restored over nearly a decade.

Villa Usuelli

A pair of twin neoclassical villas, home to celebrated ballerina Maria Taglioni from 1840. Now known as Villa Usuelli, after the family that later bought it, including alpinist Celestino "the flying Milanese".

Villa Zita

The municipal villa of Torno, open to the public and home to the Pro Loco information point, surrounded by a park with fountains and panoramic views over the lake. A starting point for the routes to Piazzaga and the Pietra Pendula.

about 9 hours 30 minutes, single stage of 28 km3 stops

Itineraries in this area

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Trekking

Via dei Monti Lariani – Stage 1: from Cernobbio to San Fedele Intelvi

The first stage of the Via dei Monti Lariani, from Cernobbio to San Fedele Intelvi: 28 km and 9.5 hours above the Como branch of the lake, past the Bugone, Murelli and Prabello huts.