Photo Carlo Maria Pensa, CC BY-SA 3.0
Lecco · Lombardy
Things to see in Esino Lario
In Esino Lario the atlas lists 7 historic places: 4 historic villas and palaces, 2 museums and 1 castle.
Of these, 2 have free entry.
Don’t miss: Museo delle Grigne (1959), Italian museum.
By date of construction, the most common period is the Modern era (67% of dated places) and the Middle Ages (33% of dated places).
- 7historic places
- 760inhabitants
- 910 maltitude
The town
Esino Lario is a mountain village in the Esino valley, between Lake Como and Valsassina in the Province of Lecco, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The village has a history of tourism that started in the late 19th century with scientists fascinated by the karst phenomena of the Grigna mountains and searching for fossils and the almost 500 caves of Moncodeno. From this early tourism a number of small hotels, restaurants and villas were built. Tourism developed greatly in the 1960s and 1970s. Today Esino Lario – 12 km above Lake Como and connected to Valsassina – is a special location for summer mountain holidays and a starting point for excursions in the Grigna mountains and the Regional Northern Grigna Park.
Text from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA, abridged · Wikivoyage
7 places
Villas and palaces 4
Castles 1
Getting there
Esino Lario is 12 km by road and a climb of 900 m from Varenna. The nearest major city is Milan. You can reach the village by car, bus, taxi, bike or by foot; there is no airport. Two provincial roads reach it: one from Varenna and one from Bellano-Parlasco (Strada della Valsassina).
Varenna to Esino. The road from Varenna is the shortest. It passes through Perledo and for the most part you go up the mountains looking at the lake. The road is quite narrow, with a number of hairpin bends. When coming by train (from Milan, Bergamo, Lecco, Valtellina, Valchiavenna, Switzerland) or by boat from other villages of Lake Como, this is the most suitable and direct road. A regular bus line connects the railway station called Varenna Esino to Esino Lario; the buses have up to 35 seats. It is not unusual to pass excursionists with mountain bikes on the way to Esino.
Parlasco to Esino. The road from Bellano-Parlasco (Strada della Valsassina) connects Esino to Valsassina. The road is also a good option if you are coming by car or by private bus from Milan, Bergamo, Lecco, Valtellina, Valchiavenna and Switzerland; from the superstrada you can get off in Bellano and follow for Valsassina, Parlasco and Esino Lario; this option is a little longer than Varenna-Esino but the road is wider, with fewer hairpin turns and traffic in the summer and during weekends, and with a spectacular view of Lake Como and Esino Lario at Sasso di Narele.
Text from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA, abridged · Wikivoyage
What to see, according to Wikivoyage
Although the village is small, the municipality of Esino Lario is large, with an area of 18.7 km (7.2 sq mi) and an elevation that goes from 554 m to 2,409 m. A convenient way to visit and enjoy the territory is to browse it by area and through itineraries. You can visit the historical centres (with old buildings, churches, doors, washes and narrow alleys), the sculptures of Michele Vedani in the via Crucis and the main church of San Vittore, and the hamlets of Ortanella and Cainallo, which are departure points for further walks.
Upper Esino (Esino superiore). This is one of the two centres of Esino, which was two villages (Esino Superiore and Esino Inferiore) until 1927; each village had its own church and there was a common church in the so-called "Castello" (the castle). Esino superiore still has its own historical centre of characteristic houses all built close to each other with narrow alleys and staircases passing through. It is inhabited all year round much more than Esino Inferiore. It is worthwhile to pass through the small Church of Sant'Antonio Abate and Piazza Caprera.
Text from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA, abridged · Wikivoyage · Underlined names link to our own pages.