Gradinata Ratto

The Gradinata Ratto connects Lovere's medieval borgo with the lakefront. Its vaulted upper section rests on the old town walls, along a historic line of the town's defensive circuit.

Why it matters

The stairway is both infrastructure and historic fabric: a covered section set on the medieval curtain wall, along a line that once linked the eastern walls from the castle quarter to the port. It marks the transition between medieval Lovere and the Renaissance town.

What to notice

The upper entrance corresponds to an old town gate. The vaulted stairway runs between Via Brighenti and Via Celeri, with a branch toward Via Martinoli; Vicolo Fossa follows the line of the ancient moat and connects with the Portichetto del Porto. The surrounding building fabric changes from irregular medieval houses to larger Renaissance-era structures. Palazzo Bosio, rebuilt from medieval houses in the eighteenth century, stands by Vicolo della Torre.

Context and history

The name is old: in the Renaissance the steep lane here was popularly called "il ratto", and dialect still calls a steep street a "rata". The route followed the eastern walls of the fortified borgo, linking the castle of Lovere — near the church of San Giorgio, higher up — with the port at the lake, and served at the same time as a patrol road with room for military operations in case of attack. When the defensive function faded in the fifteenth century, the stair became the quick, uncomfortable access between the port, the borgo of Santa Maria and San Giorgio. A restoration from November 2013 to March 2014 recovered the original covered section, repaved the route with lime-plastered walls and mostly wooden ceilings, replaced damaged or missing stone steps and added lighting designed to flatter the perspective; the works also brought the old toponym and earlier entrances back to light. The palace beside the stair adds a human story: don Angelo Bosio, born there in 1796, was parish priest of Lovere from 1840 and spiritual father of Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa, who founded the Sisters of Charity in 1832.