Risorgimento Square
Information
Position: The place has an irregular extended shape and a linear development of approximately 100 meters. It is situated on the lake shore close to the mouth of the torrent Greggio
Paving Material: Gravel flower beds form a part of the external side and are delimited by a stone curb; then you find a cobbled strip and finally the central part is made of porphyry.
Architectural Barriers: Stone curbs. The square is also closed to vehicular traffic in the north-west by a bar flanked by vases of flowers that surround narrow side walkways.
Access: It is possible to reach the place from Via Erba and also from the lake using the boats.
Services: Fee parking in Erba Street; navigation wharf
Entertainment and Catering: Hotels, beach, Cafés, restaurants, Marina.
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Square Risorgimento of Cernobbio, the “Riva”, by definition, was an alluvial plain formed by the debris carried and deposited by the torrent Greggio.
Until 2 centuries ago, it was a sand plain better known as “Punta de Gera”- where the working activities of the inhabitants took place:the fishermen left their boats and laid fish nets, the women washed the laundry, the conveyors docked the “comballi” (a typical boat of the lake Como, used to transport goods).
During the 19th century, when the tourism on the Lario increased, the original sand plain underwent some practical and aesthetical transformations. In the second half of the century, a wharf was created, and many business and tourism companies were started. During the twentieth century the square was restored and underwent some improvements. The last one took place during the thirties and made the square not only the center of the social life of the city, but also a true business card for the tourists coming from the lake.
Contacts
Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
War Memorial
Information
Position: In Piazza Risorgimento,in front of the landing stage of the public boats.
Paving Material: porphyry
Architectural Barriers: None
Access: The base of the monument is a double series of steps: the first has an height of 15 cm and a width of one meter, is cobbled and presents a barrier made of iron and columns of granite, delimitating the second step, cobbled as well..
Services: Free parking in Via Erba, navigation wharf.
Entertainment and Catering: Hotels, beach, Cafés, Restaurants, Marina
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The War memorial stands in Place Risorgimento at the exit of the navigation wharf. It is a bronze group made by the milanese sculptor Angelo Galli. The group is composed by five statues of fighters, who represent the main stages of the Italian Unification (the three Italian Wars of Independence, the Capture of Rome and the First World War). The group of statues is placed on a high base in granite.
It was inaugurated on March 18, 1923 with a solemn ceremony, in 1945 a plaque was added in memory of the fallen of World War II, accompanied by an inscription of the poet Giovanni Bertacchi from Chiavenna. In 1986 the monument was restored in memory of Gianni Baccarini, a local First World War hero.
Contacts
Comune of Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi
Information
Position: On the right side, looking from the lake, of Piazza Risorgimento, in a flower bed of gravel
Paving material: gravel
Architectural Barriers: Curb of the flower bed
Material: Bronze, stone/cement, wrought iron
Access: The monument lays on a 20 cm high stair-step, and is surrounded by a low wrought iron fence
Services Parking: Fee Parking in Erba Street, public navigation wharf
Entertainment and Catering: Hotels, beach, Cafés, Restaurants, Marina
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi was inaugurated on the 20. September of 1907, anniversary of the Capture of Rome by the Italian Army, in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the “Hero of the Two Worlds” and the memory of the fighters for the Italian Independence.
The monument is approximately 2,50 meters high, and was built by the sculptor Pietro Clerici from Como. It is fenced by a low enclosure made of iron and consists in a double herm, resting on a stone base and culminating with a severe-looking head of a woman, personification of Liberty. The woman wears a head gear with a five-point star, personification of the Italian armed forces.
Below, a bronze medallion with the portrait of Garibaldi stands out. The first location of the monument was in a flower bed in front of the wharf entrance; it was moved in 1923. In 1919 one plaque was added to the original structure, in order to commemorate the fallen in the 1st World War; the other was added on 25th april 1995, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation.
Contacts
Comune of Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Saint Vincent’s church
Information
Position : The church stands in front of the place Tolomeo Gallio
Paving Material: The place is made of porphyry with decorations of stone and a paved strip in front of the church steps
Architectural Barriers: Three low steps on the main entrance
Access: the main door of the church leads to a compass with side doors which allow the entrance to the church. Alternatively the left side door (normally closed) is equipped with a ramp for disabled.
Services: parking available in the area
Entertainment and Catering: Hotels, Cafés, Restaurants, Marina
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The Church of St. Vincent , patron of Cernobbio, is located in the historic part of the town. It was the ancient parish house; in 1935 the title was given to the new church of the Holy Redeemer. Already mentioned in a document of the year 1183, in the records of the pastoral visit made by the bishop Feliciano Ninguarda (1593) and described as “little and dark”. It was renovated between the year 1757 and the year 1775, and consecrated by the bishop Giambattista Mugiasca ( as mentioned in a internal plaque over the side door ). In the year 2005 the bell tower, the façade and the vault , on which cracks appeared to collapse, were restored. The façade, gracefully moved by a convex flow typical of the Baroque style, is characterized by the chromatic alternation among the bright beige of the plaster, the soft pinkish of the granite base and the red of the terracotta decoration, an unique example of that kind throughout the Como region.
It was accomplished in 1861 thanks to the drawings of the architect Giacomo Bussi of Milan and to the large donation of Costantino Gianorini, Canon of S. Ambrogio of Milan, who loved to spend his vacations In Cernobbio.
In the lateral niches of the main door with its angel characters, were represented St. Constantine (to remind the benefactor) and St.Hippolytus (patron of the benefactor’ home country). The other statues represent the symbols of the Virtues with their iconographical features. The interior has a single nave with 2 side altars in polychrome marble, slightly standing back and delimited by balustrades. In the niches, at the left side of the entrance, where a statue of the Holy Heart is placed, there is the ancient Baptistry; it dates back to 1570, is well preserved and was built thanks to the donations of the inhabitants as mentioned in the plaque of the strip.
The altar at the right side features a statue in plaster of the Madonna Addolorata, dating back to the early years of the 20th century, coming from the new Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, which replaces an older one. The surface of the arch is painted with The Seven Sorrows of St.Mary.
The altar, at the left side, dates back to the 18th century and is dominated by a fine wooden simulacrum representing St. Martha of the 1st half of the 19th century, whose worship was locally widespread because it was connected to the important activity of the confraternity of the same name.
Contacts
Comunità Beata Vergine del Bisbino Tel. 031.511487
Stage 2 – From Square Belinzaghi to the Giardino della Valle
Oratory of The Blessed Virgin of Graces
Information
Position: The Parish recreation centre stands in front of Via Monte Grappa; the right side overlooks Via Regina, in front of the entrance of Villa Bellinzaghi.
Paving Material: asphalt
Architectural Barriers: You can enter the church from 3 low steps
Access: The main door is wide; normally only on the right shutter is open
Services: Fee parking in Piazza Belinzaghi
Entertainment and Catering: Hotels, Cafés, Restaurants, shops
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The ancient Chapel- a little oratory built probably earlier than the 16th century-already mentioned in the Acts of the pastoral visit of the Bishop Ninguarda, was enlarged during the 17th century with the only exception of the tower bell, added one century later. In this occasion the ancient picture of the Madonna del Latte (Madonna of the Milk), considered miraculous and surrounded by a big popular veneration, was removed from the old newsstand and placed in the middle of the frontal of the altar. During the 19th century many enlargement and improvement interventions thanks to the generous donation of the parson Giovanni Maria Ostinelli, whose gravestone can be seen on the floor of Moltrasio stone. In the first decade of the new century the Oratory underwent great restoration and consolidation works. The church is preceded by an elegant portico with 20th century frescoes by the painter Archimede Albertazzi of Milan. On the main door lintel you find the inscription: “D.Mariae Matri Gratiae”. The interior has a single nave with a precious marble altar with an altar piece representing the Immaculate, kept in deposit from the Pinacoteca of Brera since 1815. The painting is a copy made by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, also known as Morazzone; another copy is kept in the church of SS. Quirico and Giuditta at Urio. Earlier, this painting was on the left side of the presbytery, while on the altar stood a niche with a statue of Our Lady. On the walls of the nave were placed two paintings of the 18th Century; on the left side The Matrimonio mistico di Santa Caterina, on the right side the Miracle of St. Dominic, probably coming from the order of the Dominicans. The left wall of the presbytery is decorated with a painting dating back to the first half of the 18thCentury representing the Deposition of Christ with St. Martha, coming from the Oratory of the confraternity of Santa Marta beside St. Vincent Church. On the front part of the table the old painting of Madonna of the Milk is kept, originally placed on the wall of the ancient chapel. The dedication to Our Lady (18th Century) could not replace in the heart of the believers the affection for the original “Madonna delle Grazie”.
Contacts
Comunità Beata Vergine del Bisbino Tel. 031.511487
Church of The Most Holy Redeemer
information
Position : The church stands in front of Piazza Don Umberto Marmori, it is a wide and shady place not far away from Regina Street
Paving Material: The place is made of porphyry
Architectural Barriers: You can enter the church by 4 steps which bring to a wide landing followed by other 3 steps. There is a double handrail which points at a wide central entrance and two side entrances. You can enter the church from a door situated on the left side of the building (for those who see the façade) endowed with a slide and a handrail for the disabled.
Access: The façade has thrree portals, that placed at the right side is normally open.
Services: Parking available in the area
Entertainment and Catering: There are many entertainment and restaurants facilities in the surroundings in particular along the nearby Via Regina.
description
(Silvia Fasana)
The new church of Cernobbio was built in 1908 with the large donation of Luigi dell’Orto, former mayor of Cernobbio, who wanted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his marriage to Elisabetta Lucca by offering his own lands and resources and by giving the community a new and large place of worship. The project was followed by the engineer Cesare Formenti of Seregno, author of many churches of the Como region, like that of S. Brigida in Camerlata. His churches usually merge the Lombard Romanesque style with the space conception of the Byzantine architecture. The death of Luigi dell’Orto delayed the construction. The building was completed only thanks to his heirs, in particular to the son Alfonso and his wife Amalia Guggiari; it was blessed by the bishop Alfonso Archi in 1924 and consecrated from the bishop Alessandro Macchi in 1935. In the year 1999 the area of the presbytery was rebuilt, and its aspect changed to a large extent. The building in Romanesque Revival Style is totally covered by cement, imitating a stone wall. The façade alternates small arcs, in Romanesque Revival Style as well, and ends up in a small loggia made up by five arcades containing the statues of St. Stanislaus, St. Ambrose, St. Abbondio, St.Louis, St. Anthony of Padua. The Statue of St. Stanislaus was a gift to the Priest Stanislao Cazzaniga, abbot of the monastery of the Oliveto Benedictine Order of Seregno. The priest was very fond of Cernobbio and also a friend of the architect Formenti. You can enter the church from a main door flanked by two side doors, in the upper part there is a painting of Christ Redeemer teaching to the crowd. This painting, with a golden background imitating a mosaic, was accomplished by the painter Enrico Volonterio of Milan. The interior, of three naves, the central one being higher than the side ones, is very essential. On the side of the vault of the third bay (starting from the back) are the images of four prophets. On the upper part of the apse stands out the Father, with St. Ambrose on the right side and St. Abbondio on the left; on the vault is the Holy Spirit with the four Evangelists. On the side walls of the presbytery are painted two evangelical scenes on a lake background, highlighting the strong link between Cernobbio and the lake of Como, Peter saved from the water (on the left side) and the Multiplication of the bread and the fishes (on the right ). These paintings were made by Enrico Volonterio; with his son Edoardo, he painted the side chapels as well. The central chapel shows the Death of St. Joseph, flanked at the left side by St. Louis Gonzaga ( painted in order to celebrate Luigi dell’Orto, realized in 1928 by the textile workers of Cernobbio) and at the right side by St. Elizabeth of Hungary (with a reference to Elisabetta Lucca dell’Orto). In the middle the chapel at the left side has the Mercy, with St.Anthony Maria Zaccaria (devotion of Amalia Guggiari dell’Orto) on the left, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus on the right. The side altars are made of white marble with carved and gilded elements in the Byzantine Style.
Contacts
Comunità Beata Vergine del Bisbino Tel. 031.511487
The Ancient Strada Regina
Description
(Ambra Garancini)
This name indicates the ancient route that, following the western shore of Lake Como, in Roman times connected Como, and before then the plain of Milan, with the Valchiavenna, and, through the Via Francisca, its natural continuation, reached Chiavenna, starting point to cross the Alpine passes towards Retia. It probably started as a link between ancient trails and to support local connections, as an alternative to the more important route by water. The name “Strada Regina” (or ‘royal road’, paved street – strata – public road) – was later documented, for the first time in 1187. Together with the waterway, i.e. the Lario, used by sailors, soldiers and merchants, and the terrestrial route – or Strada Regina – a vehicular or pedestrian trail used for local traffic, made up for centuries a real “communication system”. This system was made of a wide network of routes, which pointed North to the Alps and South to Milan – road junction of the Po valley – and had Como as its military and commercial center, more easily connected to Milan, and the western shore of the lake as its axis, because of its geographical convergence on Como. Over the centuries, the so-called Strada Regina grew in importance; throughout the Middle Ages it was cared for by specific statutes, issued by the coastal communities. The land route plaid a subsidiary role to the lake waterway, because the difficult morphology of the shores of Lake Como prevented its adequate expansion. From the sixteenth century on, the passage of the Milanese to Spain and afterwards to Austria, marked a gradual shift of large trade flows to the eastern shore of the lake, because of the need of faster connections between the Habsburg Empire and Milan. The “system Lario” of the western shore, which had marked so effectively the history of the lands of Lake Como, finally became secondary in respect to the axis Lecco-Colico. Currently the ancient track of the via Regina is being rediscovered and can be partially walked, in some stretches such as the “Greenway of the Lario”. It touches some of the most beautiful landscapes of the Lario – in Cernobbio it probably overlaps the current Via Plinio – and awaits for a better appreciation as a cultural itinerary of European significance.
Contacts
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Iubilantes via G. Ferrari 2, Como; tel. 031.279684; e-mail: iubilantes@iubilantes.it
St.Andrew’s Church
Information
Position: The ancient centre of St. Andrew is at about 240 meters , on the right side of the torrent Garrovo
Paving Material: asphalt
Architectural Barriers: None
Access: From Via Plinio
Services: –
Entertainment and Catering: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The ancient centre of St. Andrew owes its name to a medieval church dedicated to the saint and celebrated by the clergy of St. Michael of Rovenna. In 1442 the bishop of Como, Gerardo Landriano, recognized a group of women, who retired in order to pray, as monastic community under the rule of St. Augustine . The monastery was aggregated to that of S. Peter in the vineyard, tumbled down, and its remains were lost. On the wall of the houses there are still devotion signs: in a niche at the number 44 a re-painted fresco (called “al Portello”) shows St. Andrew with a lake landscape in the background, which reminds more of the first basin of the Lake of Como than of the lake of Tiberiade.
Contacts
Comune of Cernobbio Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
The Garden Valley
Information
Position : The garden is placed at the end of the valley of the torrent Garrovo, and extends itself about 250 meters
Paving Material: The route of the Giardino della Valle is partly cobbled, partly unsurfaced; most of it runs on steps.
Architectural Barriers: There are several steps along the route climbing up the garden; there is also a wooden bridge used to cross the torrent Garrovo.
The full path inside the garden includes two other bridges, not considered in our itinerary.
Access:It is possible to enter the Giardino della Valle either from Via Adda (as suggested by path 1), through a wrought iron gate with two steps going down, overlooking a little platform, followed by two steps on the left side, or from Via Plinio / Via Monte Santo (the exit mentioned in our route), through a wooden gate followed by nine steps going downhill
Services: –
Entertainment and Catering: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
In the early Eighties of the last century, the final part of the valley of the Garrovo, bordering the large park of Villa d’Este, was a mess of briars, left to negligence and degradation. To make the situation worse, a big amount of rubbish had been piled on the right side of the torrent, making it a sort of garbage dump open pit. A sensible and gentle lady, Ida (Pupa) Lonati Frati (better known as “Nonna Pupa”) who lives in the surroundings, looked with sadness at that shame every time she went home, walking down Via Plinio. She decided to do something. She asked the city of Cernobbio the permission to clear up the area, by taking away the briars and the rubbish, helped initially by her grandchildren Michele and Giulia, and later by other relatives and friends. Then she began to dig up the barren, dusty and rocky ground, enriching it with the soil picked from nearby woods and with the compound she got from the vegetable rubble, coming from maintenance works of public parks, and given her by the waste collectors. Step by step she transplanted shrubs, flowers and some fruit trees, partially bought and partially donated by friends and acquaintances.Taking advantage of the conformation of the ground, Pupa shaped a route, trod several paths, built alleys, steps, flower beds, little bridges and also a rock garden. In the central area she created a little pond with goldfishes and water plants. Nonna Pupa was able to save and re-use different plants replaced by the municipal administration in the flower beds because they were withered. Old thrown-away benches, adequately repaired and re-painted, offer an enjoyable break to the visitors walking in the garden. Pupa’s example has involved some of her friends, who helped her to clear up other areas in the surroundings; thus in several stages the Garden Valley (Giardino della Valle) was created. Today it is embellished with nice wooden sculptures made by the local sculptor Giosue’ Aramini, also known as “Gio”. An association with the same name of the place was founded in 2001, to grant preservation, upkeep and improvement of this little green area; it organizes every year, inside the garden, several events, educational activities, cultural and art events with the participation of painters, poets, writers, musicians and photographers.
Contacts
Associazione “Il Giardino della Valle” Via Monte Santo 5, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.510714
Comune di Cernobbio Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Stage 3 – From the Giardino della Valle up to the ancient border of the three municipalities
St.Nicholas’s church in Casnedo
Information
Position: the church prospects on a small square
Paving material: Cobbled
Architectural Barriers: It is possible to reach the churchyard with ten steps and the church with two more steps
Access: The church is normally closed, except for religious services
Services: Parking available in the area
Entertainment and Catering: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The church of S. Nicholas in Casnedo, once dedicated to San Carlo, was built on the site of an oratory named after the patron saint of Milan, and owned by the noble Perti family (owner of the villa next door). The dedication to St. Nicholas derives from the usage of small communities to attend functions in the chapel, situated in the old monastery of the Assumption in Cernobbio, suppressed in 1784. The building probably dates back to the late eighteenth-early nineteenth century, and in 2001 underwent a major restoration work. The rectangular façade shows baroque-inspired rounded shapes . Crowned by a simple tympanum, opened by a central rectangular window and by an elegant entrance gate, the decoration is based on the contrast between the mouldings and the frames made of gray stone and the plaster, of an intense mustard color. The interior has a single nave, with two side altars. The furniture comes in part from the original oratory and in part from the monastery of the Order of Cluny. From the monastery comes the beautiful seventeenth-century painting placed on the left wall of the nave, depicting the Assumption, attributed to the school of the painter from Crema Gian Giacomo Barbelli, as well as the eighteenth-century Via Crucis framed in gilded wood. To the previous oratory belonged instead the current altarpiece of Our Lady of Sorrows with Saint Charles, Nicholas and Anthony of Padua, dating from the first half of the eighteenth century, and probably also the valuable eighteenth-century altar in polychrome marble. On the sides of the altar, in the apse, you can see two windows with wrought iron grating, eardrum and a marble balustrade; probably the Perti family attended the celebrations from thse windows. The left altar has an altarpiece in gilded wood containing a copy of the Baptism of Jesus by Gaudenzio Ferrari, while in the altar step the Child Jesus and S. John the Baptist are depicted. The right hand altar has a wooden altarpiece, dating from the mid-seventeenth century, containing a statue of the Madonna.
Contacts
Comunità Beata Vergine del Bisbino Tel. 031.511487
Villa d’Este
Information
It is not located along the walking route of paths 1 and 2, but can be admired from vantage points in Via Monte Grappa and Via Monte Santo.
Position: Villa d’Este overlooks a restful bay of the Como lake; the access is from Via Regina
Paving Material: asphalt
Architectural Barriers : –
Access: Villa d’Este is a prestigious hotel, accessible only to clients
Services: Private parking available in the park for clients only
Entertainment and Catering: Villa d’Este offers entertainment at the highest level and excellent restaurants
Descripton
(Silvia Fasana)
The villa was built during the sixteenth century by the cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, born in 1525 from a family of Cernobbio, who was a career diplomat and secretary of State with pope Gregorio XIII. According to the tradition, the original project of the building belonged to the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi of Valsolda; the residence was called “Il Garrovo”, named after the torrent flowing nearby. At the end of the 18th Century the villa was sold by the heirs to the count Ruggero Marliani, and later to his grandson Bartolomeo Calderara, who restored the palace and the garden with his wife Vittoria Peluso. At the death of Calderara, the widow married the Napoleonic lieutenant count Domenico Pino. In order to celebrate the victories of her husband in his campaigns in Spain, lady Victoria built some turrets and forts in the park, still visible today, according to the drawings of the strongholds conquered by the general. In 1815 the countess Pino sold the Villa to Carolina of Brunswick, wife of the Prince of Wales and future George IV. The princess made some changes to the villa making it more sumptuous and changed its name to “Nuova Villa d’Este”, in honour of one of her presumed forefathers Guelfo d’Este. For approximately 4 years , from 1816 to 1820, Carolina gathered a cosmopolitan and convivial court, accumulating huge debts. She created the street connecting Como to Cernobbio and Cernobbio to Villa d’Este. In 1820 the princess returned to England where she died the following year. She was forced by her large amounts of debt to sell the Villa, which in a short time changed many hands, remaining almost abandoned for some years, until when Gaetano Ippolito Ciani, a rich baron, bought it. He rendered the villa fashionable again, organizing parties. The villa was also the seat of Anti-Austrian conspiracies. In 1856 he built a palace in Romantic style, called also the Castle (Il castello). The castle was dedicated to the Queen of England and became an hydrotherapeutic establishment. The heirs of Ciani, no more able to face all the expenses, turned the building into the current Grand Hotel, known all around the world for its beautiful structure, beautiful furniture, the magnificent park with the scenographic cypress alley flanked by water games and ending with the sculptural group of the 17th century representing Ercole and Lica. The park, introduced by a long horse-chestnut alley, is constituted by a garden parallel to the building, while a long perspective alley, lined with water jets and cypresses, opens up on the scenografic background of the English-style garden embellished by large plane trees.
(tratto da Chiese, ville e giardini, Città di Cernobbio)
Contacts
Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Villa Pizzo
Information
The interest point is not to be found along the path, but it is possible to admire it from a vantage point in Via Monte Grappa
Position : Villa Pizzo is built on the promontory of the lake with the same name; its gate is situated in Via Regina.
Paving Material: asphalt
Architectural Barriers: –
Access: Villa Pizzo is a private home not open to the public
Service : –
Entertainment and Catering: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
In 1435 Giovanni Mugiasca bought the promontory of Pizzo and built there an holiday home, close to vineyards, olive tree groves and farmhouses. In the middle of the 16th Century the Captain of Justice of Milan Giovan Battista Speziano and his son Cesare, bishop of Novara and Cremona, spent their holidays there. It was embellished and enlarged a few times. In 1792 Simone Cantoni worked in the villa, restructuring it externally and internally. The garden, in magnificent Italian style, is articulated on different levels, with staircases and terraces embellished by statues and by a lush vegetation, including the famous cypress alley. In the garden also stands the first monument dedicated to Alessandro Volta, whose construction was encouraged by his friend Giovanni Battista Mugiasca. At his death, the property was bequeathed to the Ospedale Civile of Como; in 1842 it was bought by the arch-duke Ranieri of Austria. In 1865 the villa was sold to Elise Musard, noblewoman of the Second French Empire, who adapted it to the taste of the time; most important, she adopted the same colors of the façade, that can be enjoyed today: old rose and straw yellow. In 1873 the count Volpi-Bassani bought the villa from Madame Musard and built a family tomb in the form of a small temple, according to the drawings of Luca Beltrami. Afterwards they opened a larger dock and added a reception.
Contacts
Comune of Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Casa “House St.Mary of Peace”
Information
Position : The house “Santa Maria della Pace” is located in the hamlet of Stimianico, 3, Via Liberta’ street.
Paving Material: The access way is paved, the inner courtyard is made of porphyry
Architectural Barriers: To enter the courtyard there are no architectural barriers; it is possible to enter the church on three steps, followed by a platform and by another step.
Access : The House of “Santa Maria della Pace” is a Nursery Home for the elderly; visits are not allowed.
Services: Nursery Home for old people
Entertainment and Catering: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
In 1899 the wealthy merchant Giuseppe Gabba of Milan, then owner of the Villa Cicogna in Stimianico, gave a portion of his property to Father Luigi Guanella; there, on the 8th of December 1899, the Saint inaugurated his Casa Femminile (Home for Women). The sisters of the Guanellian Order, daughters of S. Maria della Provvidenza, took care of the Nursery, of the Oratory, of the catechism in the nearby parishes of Stimianico and Cernobbio and opened a nursing home for old widows. In 1914 a little Greek theatre was realized in the garden thanks to the project of Giacomo Mantegazza and was built by the master mason Battista Mondelli, thanks also to the idea of Father Guanella, who with Giacomo Mantegazza had visited the Acropolis of Athens on September 20th, 1902, during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The theatre, inaugurated on September 6th, 1914, was demolished during the Sixties of the last century, when the Home was radically renovated. In April 1916 (one year after the death of the Saint) the little church dedicated to S.Maria della Pace was inaugurated. This church was desired by Father Guanella as votive monument during the war. It was realized according to the project of Mantegazza, who adorned the interior with some frescoes in the Neo-Gothic Lombard style. In the years 1967-1968 the church interior was totally renovated according to the council guidelines, with the paintings of Torildo Conconi of Olgiate Comasco; in the apse, Maria, Regina della Pace, is represented, on the side walls, Father Luigi Guanella and San Giuseppe. Outside, it is interesting to notice on the tympanum above the entrance portal, a copy of the Cross of Jerusalem, probably celebrating the journey of Father Luigi Guanella to the Holy Land. The House “S. Maria della Pace” became a Nursing Home for the elderly, and after one hundred years of management by the Sisters Santa Maria della Provvidenza, in the year 2006 was sold to a private company, which today continues the service.
Contacts
Casa S. Maria della Pace Via della Libertà 3, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.510032
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Ancient Borderline of The Three Municipalities
Information
Position : The ancient borderline is located at the crossing of Via Libertà and Via Plinio
Paving Material: Porphyry
Architectural barriers: There are no architectural barriers
Access: No limit of access
Services: Parking available in the area, bank
Entertainment and Catering: Shops and Cafés
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Going down along Via Libertà, leaving the Casa Santa Maria della Pace behind us, and taking the right (pay attention to the cars parked on the foothpath in the first stretch), walk along the torrent Greggio, which, after a few meters, has been covered in order to obtain a parking area, flanked by a footpath paved with porphyry. At the end of the parking cross the street and walk on a foothpath paved with tiles and porphyry before crossing Via Plinio. Here, in a building which today is the seat of the bank Credito Cooperativo di Cantu’, just beside the cash dispenser on the right, a little niche accommodates a picture of the Madonna del Bisbino protected by a grid. In this area stood the old bridge on the torrent Greggio, where until 1929 converged the borderlines of the communes of Cernobbio , Piazza S. Stefano and Rovenna, that were then united under a single municipality. This area was known as the hamlet Crotti, because is was the site of three taverns (crotti) at the turn of the twentieth century. The third, called “Terzo Crotto”, is still existing.
Contacts
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Stage 4 – From the ancient border of the three municipalities up to Villa Bernasconi
The Citadel of silk
Information
Position : The “Cittadella della seta” is approximately included between place Mazzini and the torrent Breggia at the beginning of the current Regina street (SS.340)
Paving material: Asphalt and tiles
Architectural Barriers: Entering from Via Cinque Giornate, the private via Bernasconi is closed in the centre and on the right side by two closed gates in wrought iron; the access is allowed from the gate on the left side which is always open (pay attention to the stake, placed in the middle of the way). After around 100 meters there is a mobile barrier which can be bypassed on the left paying attention to two stakes, one placed two meters before the barrier and the other one, after 50 cm.
Access : Path 1 enables access to the “Cittadella della Seta” from Via Aquileia
Services Parking: available in the area, city hall, pharmacy, the Post
Entertainment and Catering: Café, Shops
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Cernobbio has an important tradition linked to the silk industry and meets all the requirements needed to offer a modern cultural route able to recover traditions, improve knowledge of local history, upgrade the cultural offering for tourists. At the turn of the 20th century, on the area overlooking Villa Erba, stood a variety of facilities linked to the silk factory owned by the engineer Davide Bernasconi of Milan. His two villas were located in the centre of the area: today one hosts the city hall of Cernobbio, the other is a prestigious exhibition centre built in outstanding Liberty Style. These two villas were surrounded by the weaving warehouses of two dyeworks, as well as by homes built for the factory workers according to the middle-class dependancy ideal widespread in that period. In that perspective the” nursery school Bernasconi“ was built in 1881 by the “Società di Mutuo Soccorso”, supported by large benefactors’ donations, including that of Bernasconi. It was intened to be a “model” building, following the most developed practical and hygienic criteria of the time. Until the half of the last century, this urban area, connected to the production activities, represented a world set aside from the tourist part of Cernobbio; almost two souls of the same city. Today this area remains the only site of industrial archeology connected to the textile industry of the Como region, and is therefore of big interest.
Contacts
Comune of Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. of Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
New Villa or Gastel
Information
The point of interest is located next to the path but is not visible because it is placed in the wide park. From the path it is possible to see only the entrance to the park, to the left to the left of the gate of Villa Erba.
Position: The entrance to Villa Gastel is located along Regina Street in front of the city hall
Paving material: Stone slabs
Architectural Barriers: None
Access: Villa Gastel is a private house, normally it is not possible to visit it
Services: Parking available in the area, city hall, pharmacy, the Post
Entertainment and Catering: Café, Shops
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Villa nuova or Gastel once belonged to the wide compound of Villa Erba, and stands on the area of an once thriving Benedictine nunnery of Cluneo devoted to S. Maria Assunta, built around the 12th Century and closed by the Austrian emperor Giuseppe II in 1784. In 1816 the building was bought by the general Domenico Pino and by his wife Vittoria Peluso, who had sold the nearby “Garrovo” (afterwards called Villa d’Este) to the Princess Carolina of Brunswick the year before. In restructuring the building, almost all the interiors were re-arranged, but the main structure, with a square plan and a central cloister was maintained; some pediments and tympanums in neoclassical style were added. The Pino family, on the other hand, extended and embellished the external farm area, turning it into a wide garden in the English style. After their death, the building, called Villa Nuova, was inherited by the general Cima della Scala, whose grand-daughter hosted famous artists like Giuseppe Giacosa and Arrigo Boito. In 1893 Luigi Erba, brother of Carlo (owner of a big pharmaceutical company in Milan) bought the old compound, but immediately decided to build a new imposing villa close to the lake, Villa Erba, built between the year 1894 and the year 1898, separated from the older building, that nowadays is owned by the Gastel family.
(tratto da Chiese, ville e giardini, Città di Cernobbio)
Contacts
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Villa Erba
Information
The point of interest is located next to the path but it is not visible because it is placed in the wide park. From the path it is possible to see only the entrance to the park, on the left of the gate.
Position : The entrance to Villa Erba is located along Via Regina in front of the city hall
Paving material Stone slabs
Architectural Barriers: There are no architectural barriers
Access: Villa Erba is an important congress centre that can be visited only during some events or organized guided tours
Services : Parking (both free and fee) available in the area, city hall, pharmacy, the Post
Entertainment and Catering: Café, Shops. In the villa you can find the museum “The rooms of Luchino Visconti”, to the famous film and theatre director. Villa Erba was one of his favourite houses.
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The villa , in luxury mannerist style, is an articulated compound composed by a manor house house square, housing service, guest quarters, greenhouses, stables and boathouse. Luigi Erba, musician and collector from Milan, brother of Carlo Erba, owner of the pharmaceutical company of the same name, bought the property of the Cima della Scala family and ordered to build the house of the architects Gian Battista Borsani and Angelo Savoldi who drew the inspiration from the style of the 16th century architect Galeazzo Alessi. The villa was built at the end of the 19th century, its main entrance and most important rooms overlook the lake. The panoramic turret and the entrance porch, which can be found also on the opening sides, are typical features of the villas of that period. The interiors were decorated by Angelo Lorenzoli with frescoes by Ernesto Fontana. The decorations include friezes, stuccoes, gilded plaster, ceramic floors and exotic wood and the use of ancient artworks embedded in the walls and on the ceilings. A grand staircase links the ground floor to the first floor, where the rooms are placed. Upon the death of Anna Brivio, wife of Luigi Erba, the villa was inherited by the daughter Carla, wife of the count Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone. One of Carla’s children, the famous movie director Luchino Visconti (1906-1976) loved to spend the summer holidays here. In 1986 a public consortium bought from the heirs most of the property in order to create an exhibition and congress centre. Some pavilions inspired to the greenhouses were built in the park, after the designs of the architect Mario Bellini. In 2003 Villa Erba reached its maximum importance with the European conference devoted to E-Government. On that occasion the park and the pavilions were wired: this important event represented a great leap forward for Villa Erba, which now offers itself as ideal venue for important events. In 2005 the Museum “The rooms of Luchino Visconti” was inaugurated in the Villa: a documentation centre open to the public where the environment where the movie director spent his time was revealed. The creation of the museum took place as one of the important architectural and historical enhancement works started in January 2003, implemented with public funding. A wide, completely flat, park flanks the villa, with many quality trees highlighted by a botanical itinerary. The parterre opposite to the villa is animated by age-old, ball-shaped, boxwood trees, that with their green geometries (taken from Chiese, ville e Giardini, Citta’ di Cernobbio)
(tratto da Chiese, ville e giardini, Città di Cernobbio)
Contacts
Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it
Read here to get more info regarding the Congress centre in Villa Erba
Villa Bernasconi
Informazioni
Collocazione: Villa Bernasconi si trova in Via Regina
Pavimentazione: asfalto
Barriere architettoniche: nessuna
Accesso: si accede dall’ingresso principale
Servizi: parcheggi disponibili in zona, municipio, farmacia
Svago e Ristorazione: bar
Descrizione
(Silvia Fasana)
La villa fu costruita tra il 1905 e il 1906 per volontà dell’industriale serico Davide Bemasconi su disegno dell’architetto milanese Alfredo Campanini, autore di diversi importanti edifici in stile Liberty. E una costruzione di ampie dimensioni, dove gli spazi sono liberamente interpretati e il cui movimento in verticale culmina nella torretta panoramica. L’edificio si distingue per la ricchezza della decorazione ottenuta con l’uso dei materiali più diversi, dalle ceramiche policrome al cemento modellato, dai vetri colorati ai ferri battuti. Nell’insieme tutti gli elementi formano un gioiello d’arte dovuto all’abilità degli artigiani dell’epoca. L’allegoria del baco da seta rappresentata in diverse decorazioni ricorda l’attività del committente. Dopo la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, la villa divenne per alcuni anni sede della Guardia di Finanza; in seguito fu acquisita dal Comune di Cernobbio per adibirla a spazio espositivo, dopo i recenti accurati restauri.
Questa opera, di grande valore artistico, è entrata a far parte del Réseau Art Nouveau Network, rete europea sorta nel 1999 con il patrocinio del Programma Cultura 2000 dell’Unione Europea.
(tratto da Chiese, ville e giardini, Città di Cernobbio)
Contatti
Comune di Cernobbio Via Regina 23, 22012 Cernobbio, Tel. 031.343253/234
I.A.T. di Cernobbio iat@comune.cernobbio.co.it