Como

Baradello Castle

Today
Visit duration: 1 h 30 – 2 h 30
Booking: Recommended
Area: First Basin

Bluesdog67 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Maurizio Moro5153 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Maurizio Moro5153 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why go

On the hill that closes Como to the south, at 430 metres, stands the tower of a castle Frederick Barbarossa gave to the people of Como in 1178 and Azzone Visconti restored and enlarged in 1335.

Napo Torriani, the lord of Milan defeated by Ottone Visconti, died a prisoner here in 1278. In 1527, on Charles V's orders, the castle was dismantled so that it would not fall to the French; the tower survived, twenty-seven and a half metres tall, and today an outside staircase climbs it to the viewing terrace.

From the tower terrace you see the whole city, the lake's first basin and the plain towards Milan.
It is reached only on foot, through the woods of the Spina Verde park: twenty minutes from Camerlata.

Highlights

The 27.5-metre tower
The suspended outside staircase
The 360-degree terrace

Getting there

On foot from Piazza San Rocco or Piazza Camerlata, on the paths of the Spina Verde park.
Train to Como Camerlata, on the line to Milano Cadorna, a few minutes from the start of the path.

The tower on top of its wooded hill, beside a rainbow falling through the dark sky of a storm.

Accessibility

The castle can only be reached on foot, a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk with a modest climb; the tower is entered by an outside staircase hanging about fifteen metres up, and the floors and the viewing terrace are reached by stairs only.

Practical information

Opening

What else is open now

From 1 March to 31 October 2026, Sundays and public holidays 9:30 to 18:00, with a guided tour; on Saturdays guided walks from Piazza Camerlata and visits with an aperitivo, by registration

The guided-tour ticket is sold online or on site, while places last.

Tickets

Paid admission, reduced from 6 to 14; free up to 5 and for disabled visitors with one companion.

Read on

Agreements with Villa Carlotta, Villa Bernasconi, the Museo della Barca Lariana, the EcoPlanetario in Tradate and FAI

Paid admission, reduced from 6 to 14; free up to 5 and for disabled visitors with one companion; agreements with Villa Carlotta, Villa Bernasconi, the Museo della Barca Lariana, the EcoPlanetario in Tradate and FAI

Facilities

Car park 339 m away

Distances from the point on the map.

Directions On the map Official source

DestinationsComoThe city of silk and rationalist architecture, with the lake reaching right into the centre.

Updated 8 October 2026