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Magreglio

Menaresta, source of the Lambro

The karst spring of the Lambro above Magreglio, at 942 metres above sea level: a siphon in the rock that fills and overflows in a cycle of about eight minutes, hence the name — the water “mena”, flows on, and “resta”, stays.

Visit duration
20–45 min
Booking
Not required
Area
The Triangle
Illustration: a wooded valley, until a photograph of the Menaresta, the source of the Lambro, is available.Illustration

Why go

The Lambro, the river that crosses the Brianza, Monza and Milan before flowing into the Po, rises within the boundaries of Magreglio.

The spring lies at 942 metres, in the area of Piano Rancio, just north of the Ghisallo. It is a karst spring, called Menaresta because the water “mena”, flows on, and “resta”, stays. A siphon reservoir hidden in the limestone fills at regular intervals until it overflows in a lively gush, then slows and fills again, in a cycle of about eight minutes. From the Menaresta a brook runs down towards Magreglio: so begins a river 130 kilometres long, which runs through the Vallassina past Asso, Canzo and Erba, passes through Lake Pusiano and goes on to Monza and Milan.

  • The birth of the Lambro, in the woods just north of the Ghisallo.
  • An intermittent spring: the water rises and falls in a cycle of a few minutes.

Highlights

  • The gush that rises and falls at regular intervals
  • The grotto the water comes from
  • The path from Magreglio by the Castagneti
  • The first stretch of the Lambro

Getting there

  • It is reached on foot: from Magreglio in about half an hour, by way of the Castagneti and up the Lambro to the grotto the water flows from. The spring lies in the Piano Rancio area, just north of the Ghisallo pass.

On the map

Explore the lake
MagreglioOliveto LarioMenaresta, source of the Lambro

© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL

Nearby: places, experiences, services

Distances as the crow flies.

Sources and credits

Sources and credits