Laveno (Laveno-Mombello) - Lake Maggiore & Lake Orta Travel Guide
Laveno, which also includes the districts of Mombello and Cerro (9,000 inhabitants), lies along a long lakeside promenade at the only natural harbour on the eastern shore, where the Torrente Boesia flows into Lake Maggiore.
Although Laveno itself has no major sights, the views of the Borromean Islands and across the middle of the lake to the opposite shore and the 4,000-metre peaks of the Monte Rosa massif and the Valais Alps behind it more than make up for it.
In the first half of the 19th century, during the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian independence and national unity, Laveno was an important Austrian stronghold and naval port, used to defend Lombardy against Piedmont. Garibaldi's attack on Laveno in May 1859 was the signal for the war of liberation against Austria, which that same year led to Lombardy being ceded to Piedmont, and soon afterwards to the cession of Veneto and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy under the Piedmontese (Savoy) dynasty.
After the railway line to Milan and Turin was built in the second half of the 19th century, Laveno grew into an important trading centre and became heavily industrialised, with the ceramics industry in particular settling in the Laveno area.
Today tourism shapes the face of Laveno, especially in summer, when the lakeside promenade invites visitors to stroll and linger.
The area around Laveno offers many worthwhile excursions:
- Caves
- A cable car runs up to Poggio Santa Elsa (974 m), and a short walk (20 min.) leads to the summit of the Sasso del Ferro (1,062 m). From there you get a unique panorama over the bay of Laveno, the middle section of the lake with the Borromean Gulf, and the Monte Rosa massif. You can walk back down to Laveno on foot (1.5 hours).
- In Cerro, be sure to visit the "Museo della Terraglia" ceramics museum in the Palazzo Perabò. It documents the development of this craft tradition, so important to the Varesotto and introduced around the middle of the 19th century, from its beginnings to the present day.
- A few kilometres east of Laveno, near Cittiglio, you will find three waterfalls one above the other, a refreshing destination especially in the heat of summer.
- When Arcumeggia (about 10 km from Laveno), like many old mountain villages, was threatened by emigration, renowned artists from all over Italy were invited in 1956 to paint the house walls. The result is an open-air museum well worth seeing, set among steep, narrow, cobbled lanes.
- Germonio (6 km towards Varese) has one of the loveliest Romanesque churches, San Pietro (around 1000), with 13th- and 14th-century frescoes and an early Christian altar dating from the Lombard foundation in the 7th century. A little further on, in Còcquio, an old mill houses the Museo Salvini, with paintings by the artist of the same name (1889-1979), who is little known beyond the lake. In Casalzuigno stands the Villa di Porta Bozzolo, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries and decorated with Rococo frescoes, surrounded by a beautiful Italian Baroque garden; numerous events take place here in spring and summer. Near Orino stands a rebuilt, extensive castle complex in private hands, where concerts and festivals are held in summer.
- Longer hikes are possible from Vararo (for cycling fans: the Museo Alfredo Binda) via the Pizzoni di Laveno (1,035 m) to the Passo Cuvignone (1,036 m) and Monte Nudo (1,235 m), or from San Antonio to Monte della Colonna (1,203 m). Via San Michele you can reach Luino through the Val Travaglia. For these hikes, wear sturdy footwear and take a good hiking map.
- In the hinterland of Laveno there are numerous agriturismo farms offering overnight stays, meals and/or the chance to buy farm produce direct from the producer.
Laveno is of great importance for motorists, as the only car ferry across the lake departs from here, linking the eastern shore with Verbania (Intra) on the western shore, in the middle of the Italian part of the lake. With this ferry connection, drivers can explore both the western and eastern shores without having to drive round the lake each time, which would be about 120 km via Locarno and about 100 km via Sesto Calende. A direct road leads from Laveno east to Lake Varese and the provincial capital Varese.
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