Intragna: Campanile, Culture and Hiking Trails

When considering a stay in Intragna, you can weigh local history and hiking as different focuses. The campanile and the parish church of San Gottardo are part of the local cultural heritage. The Museo Regionale delle Centovalli e del Pedemonte adds insights into rural life and regional customs. For planning excursions, there are two hikes with stated distances and approximate walking times.

Campanile and San Gottardo

The Campanile di Intragna was built between 1765 and 1772. At 65.114 metres, it is the tallest bell tower in the canton of Ticino. One of its six bells faces east: after a dispute over its handover in 1802, it was recast in 1845. This history connects a distinctive feature of the tower with a specific event in the village.

The parish church of San Gottardo was built between 1722 and 1738 next to the Oratory of the Immaculate Conception and is designed in the late Baroque style. The church, bell tower, church square and cemetery cross form a monumental complex of historical and architectural value. The historic centre also includes historic buildings, typical houses and picturesque corners. Those interested in architectural history will find several different aspects of the townscape, rather than just a single tower.

Museum and cultural visits

The Museo Regionale delle Centovalli e del Pedemonte is located in Casa Maggetti in Intragna’s historic centre. The main building was constructed from 1608 onwards, and the north wing in 1751. The museum preserves several thousand ethnographic objects relating to rural life and the customs of the Centovalli and Pedemonte. The history of the building and the collection’s themes thus offer two distinct ways to explore regional history.

The guided cultural tour “Alla scoperta d’Intragna” includes the church of San Gottardo, the Museo Centovalli e Pedemonte and the bell tower. It is available seasonally. If you would like to visit all three stops as part of a guided tour, check the dates offered for your preferred travel period.

Public visits to the Campanile began in 2006; visitors climb to the bell level. A total of 165 granite steps lead to this level, about 38 metres up. From there, the view extends across the Centovalli, Terre di Pedemonte and Valle Onsernone, and encompasses 360 degrees. Current visiting arrangements may vary. For a visit, contact the adjacent Museo Regionale delle Centovalli e del Pedemonte.

Hikes to and from Intragna

The moderately difficult Intragna–Calascio–Mosogno hiking route starts in Intragna, is 8.4 kilometres long and takes about 3 hours and 50 minutes. Between Pila, Cremaso di Sotto and Calascio, it passes through chestnut and beech forests. From Mosogno, the return leg of the route is by bus B 324 towards Locarno. Check the timetable before your trip if you plan to return this way.

The moderately difficult Via delle Vose offers a shorter distance and duration: this linear mountain hike runs from Loco via Vosa to Intragna, is 6 kilometres long and takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Compared with the route via Calascio and Mosogno, it is shorter both in stated distance and estimated duration. The different routes and times help you choose a hike to suit the time you have available.

You can also include Ponte Romano in your visit plans. It is reached via a mule track that branches off from the main Centovalli road about 500 metres after the village of Intragna. This describes access via the trail and the point where it branches off; it does not give a walking time for the route.

Getting there

From Locarno, you can reach Intragna by car, heading towards Camedo, by PostBus on line 324 or by the Ferrovia Vigezzina-Centovalli. If travelling by public transport, check the current timetables. Together with the information on the return journey from Mosogno, this helps distinguish getting to Intragna from planning the specific hiking route.

Discover more destinations: Contone, Gambarogno TI, Verscio, Frasco, Solduno, Locarno, Tegna, Orselina.

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