Stage 2 – The lake

Description

The second stage of this journey ideally “embraces” the collection of “tears” from the small solitary mountain, that is, Lake Montorfano.

From Piazza Roma, at the traffic lights, cross the pedestrian crossing at the beginning of Via Como, entering the courtyard; turn immediately left, taking the narrow passage between the windows of an estate agency and a cafeteria. Exit at the beginning of Via Cantù, turn right and meet the entrances (first the pedestrian one and immediately after the driveway at number 2) of Villa Barbavara, which takes its name from the current owners. We can hypothesize that the Mandelli family, towards the end of the fifteenth century, had this building built, incorporating older structures (probably an older lookout tower, perhaps linked to the castle itself), which would later become the home of the main branch of the family. The building later underwent considerable extensions and transformations, which led it to take on its current appearance, with a vast park sloping down towards the lake. Continue on the sidewalk along Via Cantù, in concrete tiles, separated from the road by a row of black hornbeams, which makes this stretch particularly pleasant. After about 200 meters, at number 9, you can see an iron door on the side of the road that led into an icehouse.

After about 170 meters, on the left side of Via Cantù, the Viale delle Rimembranze, inaugurated on April 25, 1975, opens up and leads to the “new” Cemetery; continuing, after another 40 meters, looking to the right beyond the fence of the park of Villa Barbavara, you can see the Rivo del Molino, with its locks. The Rivo del Molino is the outflow from Lake Montorfano, which flows further east into the Roggia Lubiana, which in turn flows into the Terrò stream, a tributary of the Seveso.

Follow the entire sidewalk along Via Cantù until you turn right onto the dirt road that leads to Lake Montorfano, the undisputed “protagonist” of this stage of the route. We remind you that the lake and its shores have been protected since 1984 by the Lombardy Region as a partial biological Nature Reserve and since 2003 also as a S.I.C. (Site of Community Interest). It is therefore recommended to observe the rules of conduct indicated on the panels at the access points and within the protected area.

At the beginning of the dirt road, on the right, there is a gate that leads, after a short stretch, to the fishermen’s dock and the icehouse built at the beginning of the twentieth century by Count Giovanni Barbavara, the largest and best preserved of the remaining ones (not open to visitors because it is private). Continue for about 400 meters; at the crossroads, take the path on the right (“low” path), which quickly leads to the entrance of the Lido. Opened in the twenties of the last century on the south-eastern shore of the lake, it is a vast grassy open space surrounded by a pine forest, with a bar-restaurant. In the open space in front of the entrance you can see the circular remains of three icehouses built between the 1700s and 1800s. Continuing along the “low” path, after about a hundred meters, on the left you can see the Lossetti Mandelli Chapel, which stands in the centre of the “Old Cemetery”, probably built at the beginning of the nineteenth century following the prescriptions of the Napoleonic Edict of Saint Cloud. Tradition has it that in this place there was already a plague hospital, around which the dead of the various epidemics that have occurred over the centuries would also have been buried. It was replaced in the first decades of the last century by the new cemetery in Via Cantù; At the end of the 80s the entrance was walled up to discourage vandalism. Continue to follow the path, immersing yourself in nature, with the forest on your left and the marshy area and the lake on your right, in an atmosphere that seems enchanted. However, it is necessary to pay attention to damp or uneven sections or with exposed tree roots. After about 350 meters you are in the place traditionally known as “Il Castagno”, due to the past presence of an ancient chestnut specimen right on the shore, with its roots almost in the water. Now this plant no longer exists, but has been replaced by a smaller one, donated by the Barbavara family and planted by the children of the town’s Kindergarten in November 2024, to maintain the tradition. Here there is also a platform for visitors to stop and for fishing. On the morainic slopes that surround the southern shore of the lake is the Villa d’Este Golf Club, a true English corner in the green core of Brianza, where, since 1926, champions, celebrities and enthusiasts have practised this sport on an 18-hole course, designed by the British architect Peter Gannon, over a distance of 5760 meters, in a truly evocative natural landscape. Continue along the path, always skirting the lake and the marsh behind for another 700 meters, reaching another wooden platform, where you can see on the left the remains of the oldest icehouse, called “Giazerùn“, about 9 meters in diameter and 5 meters high; however, it is advisable not to enter to visit it for safety reasons. Continue for another 200 meters, coming out into the meadow called “the beach”; then follow the narrow path between the fence of the Sant’Andrea Estate (once Cascina Incastro, now a restaurant and wedding venue) for 170 meters until you turn right, following the path between the meadow and the dense reeds of the northern shore. After 150 meters (pay attention to the two iron poles) you enter the cycle and pedestrian path, paved in concrete tiles, which runs parallel to Via Como, allowing you to safely complete this last stretch. After a hundred meters from the entrance to the cycle and pedestrian path, you can see on the other side of the road the lawn of the old wash house, also called “Prato Fontana”, an interesting wetland redeveloped in 2019 – early 2020 by the Valle del Lambro Regional Park.

Continuing on the cycle and pedestrian path, approximately at the beginning of the private road that branches off on the right from Via Como and leads to the “Le Ville” Residence, where there is now a dense reed thicket, at the end of the First World War, due to the scarcity of energy sources, Count Giovanni Barbavara had arranged for the excavation of some trenches for the extraction of peat. During the works, the remains of a pile-dwelling settlement dating back to the Recent Bronze Age (thirteenth century BC) came to light, related to the culture of Canegrate.

Continue along the cycle and pedestrian path, which at the traffic light becomes a pedestrian strip in porphyry cubes at street level. Continue on this strip, which gradually becomes narrower and narrower at the bottleneck: you must therefore be very careful, keeping to the right. At the entrance to the courtyard at number 1, cross Via Como on the pedestrian crossing and, turning right, enter Via Agliati which leads to Piazza Roma, our starting point.

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