Sentiero del Viandante (Lierna) Voyage Tips and guide

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Sentiero del Viandante is an ancient itinerary that develops in Lombardy on Lake Como. The Trail of the Wayfarer is an ancient road that, immersed in the great Lombard mountains on one side and along the shores of Lake Como on the other, can guarantee in any period an exceptional view both on the water surface and on some of the most beautiful alpine reliefs.

The Sentiero del Viandante starts from the ancient Roman village of Lierna, to get to Colico without interruption, as the stretch of Abbadia was destroyed by the creation of the highway, passing through several lanes divided into 6 paths that guide the hikers on the right way.

The Sentiero del Viandante was also very interesting for world famous people. In fact, attracted by the paths, the banks and the great peaks of Lake Como, important minds from all over the world have come to visit these enchanting places from which they were inspired. Among them is Carlo Amoretti, an important Italian naturalist who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries. Still, attracted by the scenic characteristics of the route, in past ages important historical-artistic figures have come to visit: polymath Leonardo da Vinci, inventor William Fox Talbot, theologian Romano Guardini, writer Mark Twain, the poet William Wordsworth, writer and poet August Strindberg, painter JMW Turner, Nobel Prize-winning author Herman Hesse and sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, who lived in an elegant Lierna residence in Borgo Villa.

Alessandro Manzoni tells us about the Sentiero del Viandante when he tells us about the arrival of the Lanzichenecchi (German mercenary army composed of 28,000 men, bearer of destruction and plague) in the service of Emperor Ferdinand II of Hapsburg through the Duchy of Milan, the siege of Mantua (during the Thirty Years' War, autumn 1629). Their passage through the lands of the Path is recalled at the end of chapter XXVIII of the Promessi Sposi.

Lierna Village. Borgo Sonvico-Genico (km 3,8/ hr 1,40).

This is a very suggestive itinerary for the passage between some ancient churches dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; in particular, that of S. Eufemia in Olcio and S. Michele in Lierna, others are seen, however, well, but in the distance, like that of S. Ambrogio (also in Lierna). Along the stretch, before reaching the goal of Génico, you come across Lierna in Sornìco, the hamlet that precedes it. Sornìco has a noteworthy footprint of the 16th and 17th centuries, fully recognizable by passing under the characteristic "Punt de la Nini". From Gènico you have a broad view of the village and you can see all the splendor of the peasant world, because it is the highest and isolated fraction of Lierna.

• Punt de la Nini. In the ancient village of Lierna, in Sornìco. One of the most beautiful secret spots in all of Lake Como. From here starts the Via di S. Michele, the main stretch of the Mandello-Lierna trail, so called because it was the probable residence of Mrs. Nini.
• Monte Fopp (1079 m). Mount of Lierna that rises in the ancient village of Lierna in the stretch of the Villages of Genico and Ortanella; characterized by the presence of "fopp", that is from the local doline dialect.
• Croce del Brentalone (654 m). It is the most known and photographed Cross of the Wanderer of the whole Lake Como, this guarantees a wonderful view of the wonderful village of Lierna on the oriental side of the Como Lake.
• Pian di Spagna (200 m). It is a flat nature reserve extended for 1600 hectares between the provinces of Sondrio and Como, thanks also to the intervention of the presbyter don Guanella. On its floor lie 3 alpine groups: the Lepontine Alps, the Rhaetian Alps and the Orobie Alps.
• Il Sentiero del fiume. This is a very suggestive stretch that starts from the Rongio hamlet of Mandello del Lario and passes in the middle of two beautiful valleys: the Val Mèria and the Valle di Era.
• Fiumelatte. It is a torrent: the "Fiumelaccio", which crosses the Varennese hamlet of Fiumelatte, which bears the same name. It's a great tourist attraction and you can see upstream its roar and its characteristic frothy white color like fresh milk passing along the SP 72, and then falling in Lake Como.
• Borgo di Castello (Lierna, 23827, frazione Castello, loc. Riva Bianca). It is an ancient village well-known by the lake, once you arrive in front of the white-water resort in Lierna. This presents some stories and roles in different eras, here arose the dynasty of the Savoy, it seems, then, there has also stayed the Queen Teodolinda and for a while it was suspected that this was the house of Lucia in "The Betrothed" of Alessandro Manzoni.