The little mountain and its tears<\/h1>\n
\nStage 1 – The small mountain<\/a> <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Mount Orfano<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
Villa Manusardi<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
The Mandelli family<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
Villa Gattoni<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
St. John the Evangelist<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
Remains of the castle of Montorfano*<\/h4><\/a><\/li>
The courtyards<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
Mount Orfano<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"Mount](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/monte-orfano.jpg?resize=300%2C230&ssl=1\")
Mount Orfano
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/b>: Mount Orfano (i.e. the Orphan Mountain) is located between the municipalities of Montorfano, Tavernerio and Albese con Cassano.<\/p>\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nMount Orfano (554 m), which gives its name to the town, is so called because it rises isolated from the pre-Alpine mountain range behind it.
\nIts relief profile is elongated in an east-west direction; the north side (towards Tavernerio) is considerably steep, a little less so the southern one, at the base of which is the village of Montorfano.
\nFrom the top you can enjoy a splendid view of the lake below and the gentle hilly undulations that fade into the plain.
\nAccording to legend, the small mountain would have felt so sad and abandoned that it cried warm tears, so abundant that they formed a small lake (Lake Montorfano) at its feet. Looking down on the water, the unhappy hill, looking at itself, could see another mountain similar to itself and finally felt less alone.
\nThe particular morphological formation of Mount Orfano makes it very valuable from the point of view of biodiversity.
\nOn the southern side, which is more exposed and therefore more developed, there are woodland formations in which sun loving broad-leaved trees predominate (black hornbeam, manna ash, hackberry, laurel). On the north-facing slope, in cool and shady places, you can find more temperate loving trees (hornbeam, ash, oak, maples). These are generally well-preserved woods thanks to the particularly steep slope that has prevented their over exploitation by man.
\nAll types of woods are more or less infested with non-native species such as the Robinia, the Tree of Paradise, the American Phytolacca and the Buddleia, much loved by butterflies.
\nUntil the middle of the last century, the slopes were intensively exploited for cultivation (vegetable gardens, vineyards) through the ancient technique of terracing with dry stone walls, as well as for the quarrying of the limestone slabs from which it is made – used as building material, or to produce lime or to make millstones.<\/div><\/div>Villa Manusardi<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
\n![\"Villa](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/villa-manusardi.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\")
Villa Manusardi
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/strong>: What was at first a part of Casa Mandelli, then Villa Manusardi and now the Town Hall, is not visible from Piazza Roma, because it remains hidden by a long building now used for residential and commercial use.
\nAccess<\/strong>: Villa Manusardi can be accessed from Piazza Roma, through the large arch at number 18; however, this was not the “noble” entrance to the villa. The main access, at least at the time of the Manusardi family, was from the concierge in via Molera 5, a building now in disuse characterized by beautiful, pointed windows; This entrance is currently closed. Two other current accesses are possible from Via Molera, in front of the parking lot built in the ancient vegetable gardens.
\nThe interior of the villa is accessible from the entrance to the municipal offices, located on the south side of the southern wing of the villa in the basement, or, in the case of events in the council chamber, directly from the entrance on the ground floor on the east side of the southern wing, which overlooks the garden.
\nThe central part and the northern wing of the villa are closed, since they have not been restored yet.
\nPaving<\/strong>: Piazza Roma is paved with stone tiles and porphyry cubes, the latter concentrated in front of the fa\u00e7ade of the church and on the left side, open to vehicular traffic. A cobblestone band with two central stone guides cuts the square horizontally in half, continuing to the entrance hall of number 18. After this stretch, the driveway to Villa Manusardi has a uniform draining channel, as does the driveway from Via Molera. At the entrance to the municipal offices, the flooring is made of porphyry tiles and colored pebbles that draw a pattern reminiscent of a compass dial. The external staircase that goes up to the garden in front of the ground floor (which you take by turning right at the entrance that leads to the municipal offices) is made of stone slabs and leads into a strip of stone slabs adjacent to the wall of the villa. This strip leads, by bending to the left, to the entrance of the council chamber. Another staircase, with steps in stone slabs, that is taken from the middle of the rose garden (former lemon house) along the path that comes from the parking lot of Via Molera, leads to another gravel path from which you reach the garden in front of the ground floor of the villa.
\nArchitectural barriers<\/strong>: the entrance to the municipal offices is free of architectural barriers. To go up to the upper floors of the villa there is an elevator. To access the council chamber directly from the outside there are two staircases. The one you take by turning right at the entrance to the Offices has 3 + 9 + 9 steps interspersed with landings, while the one in the middle of the rose garden is 13 steps + 2 steps in the middle of the driveway. The entrance to the council chamber is preceded by another 5 stone steps.
\nServices<\/strong>: Town Hall parking in via Molera, Market parking in via Brianza; suburban bus stops in via Brianza; ATM in via Brianza; Post Office in Via Brianza; pharmacy in Piazza Roma; toilets in Piazza del Mercato; water fountain in Piazza del Mercato; charging station for electric cars in Piazza del Mercato.
\nLeisure and Catering<\/strong>: bar-trattorias-pizzerias in Piazza Roma, cafeteria at the beginning of Via Cant\u00f9.<\/p>\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nA first nucleus of the current complex including Villa Manusardi probably dates back to the end of the fifteenth century or first half of the sixteenth century; it was built by the Mandelli family when they began to reside in Montorfano with a certain regularity.
\nIn the following centuries the entire complex was remodelled several times, also enlarged with the addition of surrounding rural buildings and divided into various properties for the different members of the secondary branches of the family. In particular, over time, the division became more and more established between the two parts of the complex, that became respectively Villa Manusardi and Villa Gattoni.
\nIts current shape, with its characteristic U-shaped plan, dates to the second half of the nineteenth century, when it was inherited by the Manusardi family. The last owner, Riccardo, left it to the Italian Union of the Blind. In 1985 it was purchased by the Municipal Administration of Montorfano, which made it its headquarters.
\nInside, the most important still remaining room is the current council chamber (in the older southern wing), dominated by a majestic marble fireplace, adorned with the coat of arms of the Mandelli family with three gold leopards on a red background, surmounted by a crown, the imperial double-headed eagle and the heraldic motto “Loyaut\u00e9 passe tout<\/em> (Loyalty first)”.
\nAlso worth mentioning is the adjacent room, now the mayor\u2019s office, whose overdoors are decorated with glimpses of nineteenth-century Montorfano.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>The Mandelli family<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"Mandelli](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/stemma-famiglia-mandelli.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1\")
The Mandelli family<\/strong><\/p>\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nThe Mandelli (or de Mandello<\/em>) is the most influential family in the history of the town. A family of ancient lineage gravitated around Milan but enjoyed great prestige throughout the political life across the Po Valley. Among the family properties the curia<\/em> of Maccagno was of particular importance, attributed to an investiture by Otto I in 962. The first to have properties in Montorfano were Matteo and Giovanni Mandelli, sons of Guidetto and Florimonda Visconti, daughter in turn of Matteo I Magno. Archbishop Giovanni Visconti, their uncle, had in fact donated the lands and rights of the late Guidone Della Torre in the territory of Montorfano to his nephews, who came into possession of them in January 1351. From some archival documents we know with certainty that the first Mandelli to reside with a certain regularity in Montorfano around 1486 was Nicol\u00f2 Mandelli (1440-1509), son of Giacomo and Elisabetta Rusca.<\/p>\n
The family became extinct with the brothers Pietro and Gabriele Antonio, who died in 1829 without children; only their sister Flora, who had married the nobleman Bernardino Blardoni Lossetti, had descendants. His nephew Gabriele (1821-1886), added the surname of the Mandelli to his own in 1885. One of Gabriele’s three daughters, Irma (1880-1952) married Count Giovanni Barbavara di Gravellona (1871-1931), first Mayor then Podest\u00e0 of the town, who was succeeded in the same office by his son Ferdinando (1904-1970). He was the husband of Antonietta Bassi, the great-granddaughter of Sofia Manzoni, and daughter of Alessandro. Ferdinando and Antonietta are the parents of the current Barbavara descendants – four sisters including Countess Elena, who still lives permanently in Montorfano today.<\/div><\/div>
Villa Gattoni<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"Villa](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/villa-gattoni.jpg?resize=138%2C300&ssl=1\")
Villa Gattoni
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/strong>: What was once a part of Casa Mandelli, then became known as Villa Gattoni, and subsequently Villa Bianchi is currently divided into private homes. It is not directly visible from Piazza Roma, because it overlooks an inner courtyard preceded by an outer courtyard that overlooks the square.
\nAccess<\/strong>: Villa Gattoni was accessed from Piazza Roma, through the arch at the current number 3, immediately next to the parish church of S. Giovanni Evangelista.
\nPaving<\/strong>: Piazza Roma is paved with stone tiles and porphyry cubes, the latter concentrated in front of the fa\u00e7ade of the church and on the left side, open to vehicular traffic. A cobblestone band with two central stone guides cuts the square horizontally in half.
\nServices<\/strong>: Market parking in Via Brianza, Town Hall parking in Via Molera; suburban bus stops in Via Brianza; ATM in Via Brianza; Post Office in Via Brianza; pharmacy in Piazza Roma; toilets in Piazza del Mercato; water fountain in Piazza del Mercato; charging station for electric cars in Piazza del Mercato.
\nLeisure and Catering<\/strong>: bar-trattorias-pizzerias in Piazza Roma, cafeteria at the beginning of Via Cant\u00f9.
\nOther information:<\/strong> currently the complex cannot be visited, as it is divided into private properties. It is possible to see the first courtyard by looking out from the gate at number 3 of Piazza Roma.<\/p>\n
\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nVilla Gattoni, now known as Bianchi, is now divided into private homes, and lies adjacent to Villa Manusardi. It was accessed from the arch surmounted by the two-part marble coats of arms of the Mandelli on the left and of the Durini on the right, just right of the fa\u00e7ade of the church of S. Giovanni, in Piazza Roma.
\nOriginally it formed a single complex with Villa Manusardi, since it shared its origin, at the end of the fifteenth century or first half of the sixteenth century, from the home of a branch of the Mandelli family. This part was also remodelled and enlarged several times with the addition of surrounding buildings. It owes its name to the fact that, in the first half of the nineteenth century, Barbara Mandelli, Gaetano’s daughter, married Giovanni Battista Gattoni, relative of Canon Giulio Cesare, who was a scientist and friend of Alessandro Volta. The couple loved to live in this house.<\/div><\/div>St. John the Evangelist<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"St.](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/chiesa-san-giovanni.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1\")
St. John the Evangelist
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/strong>: the parish church of S. Giovanni Evangelista is located at the end of Piazza Roma in Montorfano.
\nAccess<\/strong>: the church can be accessed from the main entrance, situated in the center of the fa\u00e7ade (frequently closed) or from the entrance on the left side of the fa\u00e7ade (normally open).
\nPaving<\/strong>: Piazza Roma is paved with stone tiles and porphyry cubes, the latter concentrated in front of the fa\u00e7ade of the church and on the left side, open to vehicular traffic. A cobblestone band with two central stone guides cuts the square horizontally in half. The main entrance to the church is immediately preceded by a stone-paved band.
\nArchitectural barriers<\/strong>: the main entrance to the church is preceded by three low stone steps, while the secondary one is preceded by a low threshold. In front of the church, longitudinally, low architectural elements delimit the pedestrian area.
\nServices<\/strong>: Market parking in Via Brianza, Town Hall parking in Via Molera; suburban bus stops in Via Brianza; ATM in Via Brianza; Post Office in Via Brianza; pharmacy in Piazza Roma; toilets in Piazza del Mercato; water fountain in Piazza del Mercato; charging station for electric cars in Piazza del Mercato.
\nLeisure and Catering<\/strong>: bar-trattorias-pizzerias in Piazza Roma, cafeteria at the beginning of Via Cant\u00f9.<\/p>\n
\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nThe seventeenth-century Como historian Primo Tatti, citing a volume then preserved in the Cathedral Archives, stated that in ancient times the church of Montorfano, then dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was directly dependent on the Cathedral of Como. In 1196, following yet another division of territories between Como and Milan, Como ceded their part of the territory of Montorfano to the Milanese, even if a contradictory clause of the treaty protected the rights of the Bishop of Como. Perhaps this is why at the end of the thirteenth century the church of Montorfano was not reported in the Liber notitiae sanctorum Mediolani<\/em>, attributed to Goffredo da Bussero.
\nA century later, in 1398, the “chapel<\/em>” of Montorfano is instead mentioned as belonging to the Parish of Galliano (therefore Ambrosian, i.e. Milanese); it would remain in the Diocese of Milan until 1982, when it was passed back to the Diocese of Como.
\nA complete renovation of the building took place thanks to the intervention of the nobleman Nicol\u00f2 Mandelli on the recommendation of the architect Pellegrino Pellegrini in 1578, the year before the first pastoral visit of St. Charles Borromeo, who describes the church, already dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, as having a high altar facing north (instead of east as it was originally, as in all ancient churches), two secondary altars, the baptismal font and the bell tower. On 12 July 1582 the same St. Charles consecrated the church and the high altar. However, in 1606, in the Acts of the Pastoral Visit of Cardinal Federico Borromeo we find that the orientation of the church had been changed, with the apse now facing east. This situation presumably lasted until 1794, when new restauration and renovation works to the church took place that, besides changing again the orientation of the building in a north-south direction, built the vaulted roof and carried out the embellishment of the interior and fa\u00e7ade with pilasters and cornices, all at public expense.<\/p>\nIn 1926, with the generous contribution of the population, the church was enlarged to the west, the altar of the Madonna was set back to make room for the altar of Sant’Antonio, now today of San Giovanni. The interventions of 1974-1976 commissioned by the parish priest Don Eustorgio Mattavelli led to a total internal remodelling (according to many a distortion) of the church, especially of the presbytery area, designed by the engineer Gaetano Banfi.<\/p>\n
In 2011-2012 the works undertaken by Don Gaetano Biagioni on a project by the architect Alessandra Santini were intended to bring the building back to its early ‘900 structure, even if the ancient pictorial decoration and furnishings (altars, balustrades etc.) had already been lost.<\/p>\n
Currently, one of the few remaining ancient elements is the large canvas of the Crucifixion<\/em> above the main altar, the work of an unknown painter from the first half of the seventeenth century.<\/div><\/div>
Remains of the castle of Montorfano*<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"Remains](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/resti-castello-montorfano.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")
Remains of the castle of Montorfano*
\n<\/strong>* structure partially disappeared<\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/strong>: he remains of the castle of Montorfano are located on the top of Mount Orfano, among the vegetation.
\nArchitectural barriers: <\/strong>see itinerary.
\nServices<\/strong>: small parking lot at the end of Via Mandelli, Town Hall parking lot in Via Molera, Market parking lot in Via Brianza; suburban bus stops in Via Brianza and Via Como; ATM in Via Brianza; Post Office in Via Brianza; pharmacy in Piazza Roma; toilets in Piazza del Mercato; water fountain in Piazza del Mercato; charging station for electric cars in Piazza del Mercato.
\nLeisure and Catering<\/strong>: bar-trattorias-pizzerias in Piazza Roma, cafeteria at the beginning of Via Cant\u00f9.<\/p>\n
\nDescription
\n<\/span>(Silvia Fasana, all rights reserved)<\/p>\nMount Orfano, since ancient times, has assumed strategic importance for the control of the surrounding territory with the construction of a fortification on its summit.<\/p>\n
Among the vegetation you can still see the remains of a fortified complex, which was the subject of some excavation campaigns in the nineteen seventies (Municipality of Montorfano and Limonta Company, University of Lancaster).<\/p>\n
The fortified structure was characterized by the fact that it was not only made up of masonry elements, but also had incorporated rocky outcrops with adjustments of the terrain to form valleys and two orders of ditches before the walls.<\/p>\n
The uncovered structures, as stated the architect Mario Di Salvo in his report on the works “can be considered to be between an early medieval period and the pre-Renaissance era<\/em>“, with the exception of the top turret.<\/p>\n
“However, there are serious indications<\/em> \u2013 writes Di Salvo \u2013 that these structures continue further, indicating a complex of primary importance for the quality of the finds and for its dimensional breadth which probably means it is to be considered of primary importance comparable to the similar imposing structures of Baradello<\/em>“.<\/p>\n
Nothing is known for sure about the origins of this fortress. It can be considered that some structure on Mount Orfano was part of a system of fortified locations each connected to the other, built by the Romans in the late imperial age at the foot of the Lombard Pre-Alps, functioning as garrisons, for controlling and warning against barbarian invasion. This system would have been applied during the conflict between the Goths and the Byzantines for the conquest of the Italian peninsula and, later, by the Lombards. The importance of the fortress of Montorfano grew considerably in the late Middle Ages due to its strategic position on the border between the territories of Como and Milan. The fortress, in fact, was demolished and rebuilt several times, and was first subject to the conflicts in the twelfth century between Como and Milan. Then, in the following centuries, it had a role in the struggles for power between the great families, in particular the Rusca, the Torriani, and the Visconti. Popular tradition has it that it was the refuge of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa on the run after defeat in the battle near Carcano (Tassera) against the Milanese troops and their allies in August 1160 although there is no documentation to validate this. It lost its strategic importance in the mid-sixteenth century with the arrival of foreign domination, when the area ceased to be at the centre of the main historical events. It is reported that it was definitively demolished under the Emperor Charles V of Habsburg.<\/div><\/div>
The courtyards<\/h4><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"Montorfano](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/corte-montorfano-1.jpg?resize=174%2C300&ssl=1\")
The courtyards
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nInformation
\n<\/span>Location<\/strong>: the courtyards of the historic center of Montorfano are mostly concentrated around Piazza Roma \u2013 Via Molera \u2013 Vicolo Corticella and along the first stretch of Via Como and Via Brianza. There are other courtyard farmhouses outside the town, such as the Parravicini farmhouse in via Brianza 22-24, on the border with Albese con Cassano to which it was linked; the C\u00e0 Franca, which is located in the territory of Tavernerio, at the end of the street of the same name on the border with Montorfano and the Incastro farmhouse, in via Como 19, now Tenuta Sant’Andrea.
\nServices<\/strong>: Market parking in Via Brianza, Town Hall parking in Via Molera; suburban bus stops in Via Brianza and Via Como; ATM in Via Brianza; Post Office in Via Brianza; pharmacy in Piazza Roma; toilets in Piazza del Mercato; water fountain in Piazza del Mercato; charging station for electric cars in Piazza del Mercato.
\nLeisure and Catering<\/strong>: bar-trattorias-pizzerias in Piazza Roma, cafeteria at the beginning of Via Cant\u00f9.
\nOther information:<\/strong> all the courtyards are private places, and it is therefore possible to see them only from the streets they overlook.<\/p>\n
\nDescription
\n<\/span>(from https:\/\/www.camminacitta.it\/en\/cernobbio-2\/contadini-artisti-e-notai-a-rovenna-punti-di-interesse\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n\u00abMost peasant houses had a courtyard (‘curt’<\/em> or ‘l’era’<\/em>), that is, a large courtyard where common activities were carried out and onto which the entrances to the house and farm outhouse overlooked; there were also porches (“p\u00f2rtich<\/em>“) that were used as a space for manual work at wintertime.<\/p>\n
The house was on several floors and external stairs were used to access one floor from another, interspersed with balconies with wooden parapets (“l\u00f2bia<\/em>“); in general wood was placed under them. On the ground floor, the coolest area, there was a small stone cellar (“cantin\u00ecn<\/em>“) with a barrel-shaped ceiling, used for storage of dairy products and some cuts of meat as well as wine. On the upper floors there was a ventilated, dry room, called a granary (“gran\u00e9e<\/em>“), which was used to store harvest products, especially wheat and grains (“pan\u00ecch<\/em>“), walnuts, and cured meats. A special room was reserved for silkworm breeding.<\/p>\n
The house consisted of a few rooms: a very large kitchen (“c\u00fcsina<\/em>“), which represented the centre of domestic life, and the bedrooms (“stanz<\/em>“). The toilet was a small external room with a simple hole in the ground with a leaking well (“latrine<\/em>“) in the centre.<\/p>\n
Contiguous or separate from the house, the farm\u2019s outhouse consisted of two rooms: on the lower floor the stable for housing livestock, on the upper, the barn for the storage of fodder which was often supplied by falling through a wooden trapdoor.<\/p>\n
The stable (“stala<\/em>“) varied in size according to the quantity and variety of animals owned; animals of different species raised for family use frequently lived there. It was low, paved with beaten earth or pebbles (“risci\u00e0da<\/em>“), with a wooden manger (“parz\u00e9f<\/em>“) on one or two of the perimeter walls; the larger rooms were divided in two by a passage equipped on the sides with drainage channels for clearing out the livestock\u2019s natural waste. Ten cows could fit in a stable of about fifty square meters.<\/p>\n
The barn (“cassina<\/em>“) was up to six meters high, sometimes separated vertically by a partition in beams. Part of the barn was used to pile up small bundles (“crus\u00e9gn<\/em>“) made with the shoots of the chestnut stump (“z\u00e9mbul<\/em>“), which together with the hay constituted the winter nourishment of the cattle. It also housed leaves, mainly of beech and fern (“f\u00f6ia<\/em>“), which were used to form bedding for the cows (“stram<\/em>” or “l\u00e9cc’<\/em>“). In the other part of the barn, piles of hay (“f\u00e9n<\/em>“) could reach up to four meters in height.”<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Villa](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/villa-barbavara.jpg?resize=300%2C158&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/lago-montorfano-2.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1\")
Lake Montorfano![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.camminacitta.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/giazerun.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")
The icehouses*