Comerio: Trails, Plant Life and Cultural History

Comerio sits on a scenic hill north of Lago di Varese, on the edge of the green slopes of Campo dei Fiori. In the town, you’ll find trails through the landscape and a rich history: from a Romanesque church and a villa with a garden to a greenhouse for tropical plants. As you plan your trip, you can focus on the landscape and historic sites separately or combine both.

Trails and countryside around Comerio

Comerio’s trail network includes 18 trails. Visitors can explore parts of Parco Naturale del Campo dei Fiori on foot or by mountain bike. The hilltop setting and green slopes shape the surrounding landscape. Trail 12 passes through Valle della Tacca and then reaches the Campo dei Fiori nature reserve. It also continues to the military road leading to Forte di Orino.

Two caves differ in their location along Trail 12: At an elevation of about 721 meters, a spur leads to Grotta del Remeron in just a few minutes. At 930 meters, the trail reaches Grotta della Scondurava, a natural cave of karst origin. The elevations provide different reference points for the two destinations; the time estimate refers to the spur leading to Grotta del Remeron.

Forte di Orino, a fortified military site on the Cadorna Line, is also near Comerio. From there, views extend across the Prealps, the western and central Alps, Verbano, the western Po Valley and the Varese lakes. Another natural highlight lies on the southern slope of Campo dei Fiori: At one of the few ponds, numerous common frogs (Rana temporaria) and common toads (Bufo bufo) lay their eggs in spring.

Villa Tatti Tallachini and tropical plants

Villa Tatti Tallachini was built in the first half of the 18th century at the request of jurist Benedetto Tatti. The estate passed to the Tallachini family at the end of the 19th century. They added a large spinning mill building on the east side and used the small pavilion as a special venue for chamber concerts. The garden is laid out with stair landings, water features, statues, niches and nymphaea.

The Serra tropicale del Comune di Comerio is also part of the villa’s history. The Tatti Tallachini family had it built in the first half of the 19th century as a propagation greenhouse; it complemented the villa’s collection greenhouse. The Serra is home to almost 500 rare, unusual and tropical plant species that are uncommon in Italy.

Every June, Utopia Tropicale hosts ComeRaro in Comerio, an exhibition and plant market for rare, unusual and tropical plants. The program includes workshops, talks and guided tours of the Serra tropicale. The annual June event thus brings together the plant collection and a program of events focused on plant life.

Churches and local history

Chiesa di San Celso dates back to the 11th century and is the surviving part of an abbey of the same name, which the monks abandoned around the middle of the 16th century. Its Romanesque style is evident in the rectangular, single-nave interior, the semicircular apse and the exposed masonry. Inside is a 16th-century fresco depicting the Crucifixion with Saints Celso and Benedetto.

La Stele is also part of the town’s history. The bronze and steel monument was created after Largo Ossola was redesigned in 2001. Another glimpse into the past takes us back to the 19th century: At that time, almost every family in Comerio bred silkworms and then supplied them to local businesses in the surrounding area. Alongside the history of the villa, its spinning mill and the Romanesque church, these stories reveal the varied cultural and architectural heritage of Comerio.

Discover more destinations: Valganna, Luino, Ardena Di Brusimpiano, Colmegna, Brezzo Di Bedero, Montegrino Valtravaglia, Somma Lombardo, Mercallo.

For the regional travel overview: Varese.