Cernobbio

Cernobbio combines historic villas and gardens with sacred art, a lakeside area and a hiking route on Lake Como. When choosing a hotel, it is worth first deciding what you want to focus on during your stay: are you particularly interested in architecture, parkland and art, or would you also like to include a hiking route? The places and themes offer different highlights and give you a practical guide for planning your trip.

Villas and Gardens

The new Villa Erba was built in 1903 in a centuries-old park. Its neoclassical façade and large windows overlooking the lake shape its architectural character. Today, the park is home to a modern exhibition centre that hosts trade fairs, conferences and corporate events. Here, historic villa architecture meets contemporary event use.

Villa Pizzo offers a different focus: it is surrounded by an Italian garden with terraces, stairways and statues dating from the 17th century. Native and exotic plants grow in the park. A small temple served as the burial place of the Volpi-Bassani family; a votive column commemorates the plague of 1630. The gardens, planting and historic memorials give the park several distinct facets.

Art and Sacred Architecture

The Oratorio della Beata Vergine delle Grazie has a Baroque façade and a fresco of the Immaculate Conception dating from 1671. The Chiesa di San Vincenzo offers a different artistic impression: its colourful façade is complemented by frescoes, statues and numerous wooden and gilded decorations. Comparing the two churches in terms of their art, the Oratorio offers a dated point of reference, while San Vincenzo is characterised by several artistic elements.

Lakeside, Parkland and Hiking Route

Il Giardino della Valle is a public botanical park on the site of a former illegal landfill. Its current use as a park stands in stark contrast to the site's former function. The place combines botanical features with a history of change.

The Via dei Monti Lariani begins in Cernobbio and follows a high-altitude route along the western shore of Lake Como to Sorico. If you would like to include hiking in your stay, you can consider the route as a trip in its own right: its described course extends beyond Cernobbio to the stated endpoint. This sets it apart from a visit to the park or lakeside and helps you weigh your interests when planning your trip.

La Riva is Cernobbio's lakeside area, particularly popular with tourists and also a meeting place for local residents. Rather than a single building, this is an area that serves as a meeting place for visitors and residents alike.

Madonna del Lago and the Bay of Pizzo

The Madonna del Lago is a bronze statue in the Baia del Pizzo. It was installed at a depth of six metres in June 2019, is two metres tall and weighs about 500 kilograms. A red buoy marks its position on the water's surface. The figures for depth, height and weight give you a sense of its scale; the buoy also shows where the underwater statue is marked at the surface.

To access the site, you can rent a boat or contact Invincible Diving Asd at +39 333 210 9178. Check in advance which option is currently available. A dive-training area is also being developed in the Bay of Pizzo, with provision for people with disabilities. If you would like to include this area in your plans, ask about its current status in advance.

Discover more destinations: Pognana Lario, Lurago D'erba, Cermenate, Corrido, Vercana, Carimate, Muronico, Moltrasio.

For the broader travel overview: Como.