Blevio, beautiful town located on Lake Como located in front of the beautiful Cernobbio with breathtaking views of Villa D'Este in a charming, small cove on the western arm of the Lario.
A visit to Blevio is simply wonderful for its location and for the picturesque landscapes that this small Larian town offers with wonderful panoramic views from coast to coast.
Once on site you will immediately realize the unique beauty of this place with an amazing panoramic view of the southern part of the Como lake basin, its very peaceful atmosphere, its enchanting evocative and genuine environment present in all its hamlets which are Sorto, Girola, Maggianico, Mezzovico, Cazzanore, Sopravilla and Capovico which together form Blevio.
In the past they formed an area called "area of the seven cities" corresponding to those seven villages that were originally independent settlements, dominated by Monte Boletto, the peak of the Como Prealps from the top of its 1040.0 meters, small agglomerations scattered on a mountainous plateau that descends towards the lake where the beautiful Brunate also overlooks looking at the city of Como from above.
It is no coincidence that many famous artists visited and were enchanted by this wonderful location, we can mention Manzoni, Foscolo, Lord Byron, Fogazzaro, Rossini, Napoleon Bonaparte and Franz Josef II Emperor of Austria often guests in the wonderful Villa Pliniana located in nearby Torno often stopping in Blevio admiring the splendid views of Lake Como.
Blevio is a small paradise that in the contemporary era has attracted pop stars and established sports champions who decided to fix their residence in luxurious villas in this charming town of Como.
Historically Blevio was inhabited in prehistoric times then occupied by populations of Celtic-Ligurian origin, probably its name derives from the Latin word Bieulius which means alive .
After the Roman colonization this area suffered the invasions of the Lombards, Franks and Swabians, in the Middle Ages the local history has always been linked to Como, for proximity and Milan, historical secular enemy of this city.
In medieval times this small town before being conquered by the Visconti Duchy and under the dominion of the lords Sforza first and Visconti, later following the history of the entire Lombardy region or incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy and Veneto governed by the Austrian Empire until the famous battle of San Fermo very close to Como when the whole local territory became part of the Kingdom of Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century.
I recommend starting the visit from the Church of Saints Gordiano and Epimaco , former local parish, baroque building of the eighteenth century built on a previous church probably of medieval origin.
The building consists of a large façade built on two levels crowned by a splendid tympanum. On one side is the bell tower built with a lower section of stone, the bells are located in a quadrangular space at the top with rectangular windows open and arched on their tops surmounting a circular clock.
The interior with a nave and domes contains important works including a beautiful fresco by the master Nuvolone of the sixteenth century depicting San Sebastiano, other works by painters of the Lombard-Piedmontese school including one by Guglielmo Caccia also known as Moncalvo, his birthplace in the province of Asti and an organ manufactured in 1800 by the Magentini Prestinari brothers.
Later you will notice what remains of a manor hidden by dense vegetation that was the home of Professor Rusmini, called Castel D'Ardona built in 1894 and later used as the headquarters of the Comense Dyeing Company before being totally abandoned.
Moving then to the hamlet of Mezzovico, famous for an ancient path used in the past by the local populations where you can admire something very special or the famous Erratic Boulders, gigantic stones transported by alpine glaciers to the shores of the lake in prehistoric times in the Neozoic era.
Many of those huge boulders were carved by the locals in very remote times, others even opened forming species of basins and used as tombs.
One of the biggest highlights is the Prea Nairola, a huge granite monolith 7.5 meters high and 5.5 meters wide protruding from the mountain at an altitude of 750.0 meters on the path that connects Brunate to Montepiatto.
Looking at that huge boulder from afar it looks like a dinosaur or seen from another perspective it takes the form of a dragon's head.
The Prea Nairola of Blevio was declared a national monument in the year 1984, there are legends mentioning elves and goblins wandering around it or witches and wizards who used it as a place for their spells.
On some of those boulders were found engravings more recent than the prehistoric period, something indecipherable, probably linked to Celtic codices, divinities, magical writings including suppositions of sacred and profane linked to divine apparitions or in the second case used for pagan rites.
Time for your lunch, I recommend remaining in the traditional kitchen first courses to choose between Risotto with Four Cheeses or Tagliolini Cream and Ham, second courses to choose between Fried Bleaks with Mixed Salad or Veal Escalopes in Sauce with Sautéed Mushrooms.
The visit of Blevio is wonderful, Lake Como is a wonderful attraction, art, history, a unique day of tourism to be enjoyed immensely while preserving happy memories.
Link : https://www.comoanditslake.com/blevio.htm
Where to Stay | Recommended Accommodation
Albergo Milano
Como Lake Vista -by HomelmComo