Borgo di Oggiogno con il torchio dei Terrieri

Oggiogno is the old mountain hamlet of Cannero Riviera, above the lake shore, where winding lanes and stone arches still recall a medieval past. Its most treasured object is the Terrieri press, a huge wooden press of 1743 that pressed grape pomace and walnuts until 1960 and remains in the hamlet.

Why it matters

Oggiogno, a frazione of Cannero Riviera towards Cima Morissolo and Alpe Colle, preserves features of the area's rural history among woods and meadows.

The hamlet's historic Terrieri press is a large wooden screw press built in 1743. It processed grape pomace and walnuts until 1960.

Its winding lanes and stone arches reflect the medieval settlement, while late-nineteenth-century villas represent a later phase of the hamlet's history.

What to notice

Narrow, curving lanes and stone arches preserve features of the medieval layout.

The large timber frame is built around a central screw. Its use for grape pomace and walnuts reflects the mixed agricultural economy of the slopes.

Late-nineteenth-century villas form a distinct architectural layer alongside the older stone hamlet.

Context and history

Agriculture shaped Oggiogno's history. The mild lakeside climate pushed cultivation up the mountain slopes on terraces, and viticulture became one of the most flourishing activities of the area. Where there were vineyards there were presses, and Oggiogno's was built — accounts give 1742 or 1743; the municipality dates it to 1743. It belonged to the Terrieri family, whose name it still carries, and pressed vinacce and walnuts until 1960.

Chestnut growing was the other pillar of the local economy. Chestnut groves around the village produced a staple crop, dried in the grà so it would keep through the winter. Together, the press and the grà record a self-sufficient mountain agriculture that lasted until the mid-twentieth century.

The hamlet's medieval core — its arched lanes — is older than all of this, and its nineteenth-century villas newer. Three restorations have preserved the press; a local tourism account describes it as the only press of its kind surviving in original form in the area.