Carate Urio

Carate Urio occupies one of the most photogenic bends of Lake Como’s western shore, where the green water deepens between Torno and Laglio. Formed by merging the two lakeside villages of Carate and Urio in the twentieth century, it remains a cluster of stone lanes, frescoed church façades and terraced olive groves rather than a resort.

Why visit

This is the stretch of the Como west shore that rewards walkers and slow travellers: the Strada Regina threads between villages, and footpaths climb from the lake into chestnut woods within minutes. Carate Urio’s appeal is concentrated in small, genuinely old things — a Romanesque bell tower rising over the parish church, a quiet sanctuary in the hills above Pobiano, lakeside squares where the water is close enough to touch. It suits visitors who want Lake Como’s scenery without the crowds of Bellagio or Menaggio, and who are happy to base themselves in a working village with a handful of trattorias and a small lido. Photographers, church-art enthusiasts and cyclists on the coastal road will find plenty to hold them for a day or two.

Character and history

The two villages that make up the comune have different roots. Urio’s parish was already recorded under the pieve of Zezio, the rural district of the city of Como, by 1335, and the area’s history reaches back further still, with local tradition and finds pointing to Roman-era settlement along the lake road. Urio was merged with Carate in 1927 to form the present municipality. Lakeside life here was long tied to fishing, silk and the exchange of goods by water; the wealthy villas that line the shore arrived with Lombard industrial families in the nineteenth century, among them silk entrepreneurs whose mills shaped the local economy. Today the village keeps a residential, unhurried character, its stone houses stacked between the road and the water.

What to see

The principal monument is the Church of Saints Quiricus and Julitta, the parish church of Urio on Via Regina. Rebuilt in 1865 after flooding from the Pangino stream, it wraps itself around an imposing twelfth-century Romanesque bell tower with twin-light windows; inside are Renaissance and seventeenth-century canvases, including an Immaculate Conception in the style of Morazzone, and the church square outside opens onto one of the finest lake views on this shore. Higher up, in the hamlet of Pobiano, the Sanctuary of Pobiano of the Holy Trinity rewards a short walk: renovated in 1932 by the silk industrialist Pietro Amedeo Taroni, it preserves a faded fifteenth-century fresco of the Trinity, a Lourdes grotto and a terrace of meadows and woods looking down the lake. In the village centre, the Punto Libri Liala is the municipality’s small community book point on the lake road, a modest but telling sign of local civic life.

How to experience

Arrive by boat if you can: the mid-lake ferries make Carate Urio a stop on the Como–Colico route, and the village is far more itself when seen from the water. Walk the stretch of the Greenway-style lakeside path towards Laglio or Torno, or follow the mule tracks that climb from the shore to Pobiano and the hamlets above — the walk to the sanctuary from the Cavadino side takes roughly a quarter of an hour through woods. Swim season brings the small lido and rocky bathing spots along the shore. Drivers should note that the Strada Regina is narrow and busy at peak times; the most relaxed visits park once and continue on foot. End the day at a lakeside restaurant as the evening ferries cross to Bellagio.

Practical planning

Carate Urio lies on the western shore of Lake Como about halfway between Como and Argegno, served by the coastal road and by the public boat lines that connect the mid-lake villages; check current timetables with the navigation operator before travelling. Accommodation is mainly small hotels, B&Bs and apartments rather than large resorts. Shops and services are basic, so plan meals around village restaurants or the nearby towns. Churches are free to enter during public opening hours, but hours vary and are best confirmed locally or through the municipality’s site, comune.carateurio.co.it. Spring and early autumn offer the best walking weather; July and August are hottest and busiest on the road.

Nearby places

Along the same shore, Laglio, Moltrasio and Cernobbio follow towards Como, while Torno and Nesso continue north-east along the winding coast. Across the water, Blevio and the city of Como anchor the eastern side, and the ferries put Bellagio within easy reach for a day trip.