Laglio, Lake Como: Things To Do and To See in One of the Most Elegant Locations Of The Lake [Infographic]
Pic by Paolo Bosca
With its slopes full of vineyards and olive groves, pastel colored villas, and white swans on the lake, Laglio - on the west coast of Lake Como - has always provided a romantic backdrop that has attracted tourists for a long time.
This tiny village, strategically located a 10' drive to Como city, boasts a timeless and upscale charme; not by chance, George Clooney has chosen it in 2001 as his summer residency buying the ultra famous Villa Oleandra and Villa Margherita.
The municipality includes five hamlets: Germanello, Ossana, Soldino, Ticée, and Torriggia.
A romantic corner of Laglio old town (Vicolo San Giorgio)
Behind the old town, we find plenty of woods that culminate in Monte Colmegnone (1383 m); the hills here offer hiking trails and stunning panoramas over the lake. You'll see hawks and falcons, as well as a variety of plants species (in particular the laurel plants, from which the medicinal laurine oil was once extracted).
Laglio boasts a kind of record: its district Torriggia is the most narrow spot of Lake Como, with only 675 meters dividing it from the opposite shore.
Image via Enjoy Lake Como (Vespa Rental in Laglio)
Laglio’s unique colors
A feature we particularly love about Laglio is its shimmering colors.
In this narrow stretch of coast, Lake Como starts looking more like a river: the mountains on the opposite shore are closer and reflect their awesome green hues on the water.
But there’s more: in spring, the blooming of the underwater weeds make the green of the water look even more intense, almost like a tropical green. The effect is impressive!
© Lakeside
A weird pyramid by the lake
In the cemetery of Laglio we are welcomed by a curious funeral monument in the shape of a pyramid, containing the remains of the famous Austrian doctor Joseph Frank (1771-1842).
Pic via Wikimedia
Joseph studied physics and medicine in Pavia (he was a pupil of Alessandro Volta!); after graduating he taught in Poland, where he was appointed physician of the Imperial House.
In 1829 he moved to Lake Como to try to recover from his poor health and bought Villa Gallietta in Borgo Vico. Lake Como was his great medicine: he soon regained shape and health here.
During the years of his stay on our lake, Joseph became famous for his magnanimity: he used to give to the poor in need his care and medicines for free.
Falling in love with Laglio, he chose its banks for his eternal abode. In 1852 he was buried in the great pyramid, 20 m high. and 13 m. wide, for the construction of which he had left the sum of 25.000 francs in his will.
It’s good to remember that this doctor left many of his possessions in Laglio, both in favor of the poor and to the church of the town.
Torriggia and its fun facts
Torriggia is the hillside hamlet of Laglio, the most panoramic and sunny.
2 fun facts to know about it:
Poetess Ada Negri (1870-1945), who was the only one woman in Italy who managed to be admitted at the Academy of Italy in 1940, was a big fan of Torriggia. In Spring 1922 she spent some months at Villa Gatti-Mosca, where she wrote some of her poetries.
If you like trekking, in Torriggia you’ll find the famous Grotta dell'Orso (cave of the bear). It can be reached by climbing from Torriggia along a rather steep mountain path. The cave is famous for the petrified bones found in its bowels; bones not only of bears, but of many other animals extinct over the centuries, a place of global importance for the finds found there. The cave is really a natural masterpiece: it includes not only stalactites and stalagmites, but also an awesome underground lake.
Aperitivo by the lake + Vespa Rental: perfect combo!
Final note: in Laglio you CAN’T really help stopping by Da Luciano Bottega e Caffè, a deli shop offering delicious local cold cuts, meat, cheese, and a wide variety of Italian wines with honest prices.
Da Luciano Bottega e Caffè (Via Vecchia Regina 61, Laglio)
If you go during the week in strategic times, you can be lucky enough to find a seat in one of their romantic waterfront tables.
Luciano in person!
Jolly: in front of Da Luciano you can find a Vespa Rental, Enjoy Lake Como: 8 original Vespa Piaggio are waiting for you to enjoy with “style” and in freedom the most beautiful views of Lake Como! (Via Vecchia Regina 61).
Enjoy Lake Como
© Lakeside
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