Gravedona

Gravedona, now part of Gravedona ed Uniti, stands where Lake Como begins to widen northwards, open to the lake’s longest water views. An ancient pieve town with one of Italy’s finest Romanesque churches at the water’s edge and a cardinal’s fortress above, it is the historic capital of the Alto Lario and a calm base for the upper lake.

Why visit

Gravedona rewards the traveller who enjoys architecture with weight. The Basilica of Santa Maria del Tiglio, at the junction of shore and mountain, is the sole surviving masterpiece of Comasco Romanesque: two-tone walls of white Musso marble and black stone from Olcio, a square-based bell tower rising octagonal into the sky, and a facade layered with carved reliefs — including a strange fertility emblem popularly linked to Queen Theodolinda. Above the town, Palazzo Gallio broods on its promontory: a square fortress-palace with four massive corner towers, commissioned in 1586 by a cardinal who was the Pope’s Secretary of State and lord of these valleys. Between the two monuments runs a lakeside promenade and a grid of old lanes holding no fewer than seven historic churches. Add ferry connections, beaches at the northern end, and easy access to mountain valleys, and Gravedona works as both a cultural stop and a slow base.

Character and history

Gravedona was the head of one of the great medieval pievi of the Como diocese — the ecclesiastical unit administering the surrounding parishes — and its baptistery rights are written into the very stones of Santa Maria del Tiglio, which began as a palaeo-Christian baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist on the site of a Roman temple. The town’s medieval importance made it a prize; a castle once stood here until its destruction in the twelfth century, whose remains were later absorbed into Palazzo Gallio’s walls. That palace tells the Renaissance chapter: Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, papal Secretary of State and lord of the three pievi of Gravedona, Sorico and Dongo, commissioned it in 1586 from Pellegrino Tibaldi, architect to Cardinal Carlo Borromeo; unfinished at Tibaldi’s death in 1607, it passed to the dukes of Alvito and later served as a military hospital before becoming the monument it is today. In 2011 and later years, Gravedona merged with neighbouring Consiglio di Rumo and Germasino into the single comune of Gravedona ed Uniti, which now anchors tourism marketing for the upper lake through the northlakecomo.net association.

What to see

The Basilica of Santa Maria del Tiglio comes first: built in the second half of the twelfth century beside the old parish church of San Vincenzo, its name by tradition recalls a linden tree once growing from the tower. Inside, a nearly square room holds a colourful mosaic floor and the buried font of the ancient baptistery; fourteenth- and fifteenth-century fresco fragments include a Last Judgement. The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie with its Dominican convent of 1467–1468 carries important Renaissance paintings, and the neighbouring Church of Saints Gusmeo and Matteo is another Romanesque survivor. The Church of San Vincenzo (Gravedona), the ancient parish church beside the basilica, and the small Church of Sant’Abbondio (Gravedona) deepen the medieval layer, while the Church of the Madonna della Soledad and Church of the Santissimo Crocifisso fill out the devotional map. Above it all, Palazzo Gallio — free to enter during public hours — hosts exhibitions and concerts in its two-storey hall.

How to experience

Give the basilica time in the morning, when light reaches the facade; it is open daily and the combination of marble banding and lake backdrop is one of the lake’s great sights. Then climb through the lanes towards Santa Maria delle Grazie and San Vincenzo before finishing at Palazzo Gallio — the loggias frame the lake beautifully, and its hall’s exhibition and concert programme is worth checking. The lakeside walk north leads towards the Dascio area and the mouth of the Mera, where the Pian di Spagna wetlands begin; boats and pedal craft can be rented near the beaches. A driving loop up the valleys behind the town reaches mountain hamlets and viewpoints. On summer evenings, the promenade fills with the whole town; joining it is the simplest and best experience Gravedona offers.

Practical planning

Gravedona ed Uniti lies at the northern end of Lake Como, roughly seventy kilometres from Milan by road via the SS340 or the eastern shore route through Colico, which has the nearest railway station with connections to Lecco and Milan. Buses run the western shore from Como, and seasonal ferries link the Gravedona landing with mid-lake and southern towns. The basilica keeps daily opening hours, but the smaller churches and Palazzo Gallio vary — consult comune.gravedonaeduniti.co.it and northlakecomo.net for current times and events. Accommodation includes lakeside hotels, apartments and campsites; the beaches and the wind that favours Domaso nearby also reach this stretch. For the Pian di Spagna reserve, bring shoes that can manage gravel tracks.

Nearby places

Domaso lies just south with its beaches and water-sports beaches, and Dongo continues down the shore with the Museum of the End of the War. At the far end of the lake, Como makes the natural southern complement to an upper-lake itinerary.