San Pancrazio Sanctuary, Ramponio
Ramponio's sanctuary in the Valle Intelvi: an eleventh-century Romanesque oratory rebuilt in the late fourteenth century, of which the bell tower and apse survive; inside, sixteenth-century frescoes.
20–40 min
Val d'Intelvi and the Western Balconies
The valley above Argegno, between Lake Como and Lake Lugano, on the Swiss border.
- How long to stay
- 1–2 nights, or half a day out of Argegno
- From Milan
- 1 h 20
- From Como
- 35 min
- From Lecco
- 1 h 25
- Places
- 1
Character
From Argegno a cable car climbs in six minutes to Pigra, about six hundred and fifty metres higher.
Behind it opens the Val d'Intelvi, the valley linking Lake Como to Lake Lugano, from which for three centuries stuccoists and architects left to work all over Europe.
Stone villages on the hillsides, meadows, beech woods and Switzerland a few kilometres away.
The first basin seen from above, roofs of stone slabs, and the Sighignola viewpoint looking over Lugano to Monte Rosa.
On the map
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Things to see
Santi Nazaro e Celso, Scaria
The Romanesque church in Scaria's cemetery, with a frescoed portico, chancel paintings of 1516 and nave paintings of 1588.
20–40 min
Madonna di Loreto, Lanzo d'Intelvi
Lanzo's sanctuary of the Black Madonna, inspired by the Holy House of Loreto, with a frescoed portico and an altar decorated with coloured scagliola.
15–30 min
San Siro, Lanzo d'Intelvi
Lanzo's church with its tall bell tower over the square, Romanesque in origin and rebuilt from 1476: inside, early sixteenth-century Lombard frescoes of the Doctors of the Church, the Last Supper and the Evangelists.
15–30 min
Villa Turconi, Lanzo d'Intelvi
A stone villa that looks like a medieval manor, built between 1918 and 1923 for a Milanese banker and his picture collection, with Vittorio Novi's sculpture and wrought iron; today it belongs to the Comune and hosts exhibitions and events.
20–45 min
Sighignola Belvedere
The viewpoint known as the “balcony of Italy”, above Lanzo d'Intelvi at 1,302 metres above sea level, overlooking Lake Lugano and the Alps.
30 min – 1 h
Experiences
Val d'Intelvi
The balconies of the Val d'Intelvi
From Argegno to Pigra in six minutes by cable car, more than six hundred and fifty metres above the lake.
3 h – 6 h5.7 km · +9 m
Val d'Intelvi
The mule track to Erbonne
An hour and twenty minutes through the woods of the Valle Intelvi, from La Bolla above Casasco to the small village of Erbonne: level at first, then gently downhill, past a pond, the stone ice houses and old farm houses, with a glimpse of the lake and Monte San Zeno.
2 h 30 – 3 h 30Car neededOpen access
Events
6Feb 2027
Schignano carnival
The wooden masks of the Mascarun and the Brut parade between the hamlets, and on Shrove Tuesday the Carlisep is burned.
Piazza San Giovanni in Occagno, the lanes to Auvrascio and the sports ground, Schignanountil 9 FebruaryUsually free entryIndicative dates
Indicative dates follow the annual recurrence and should be confirmed with the organiser.
The other areas
- First BasinComo, the funicular to Brunate and the villas along the shore as far as Argegno.
- Centro LagoBellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, linked to one another by ferry.
- Upper LakeThe upper lake, north of Menaggio: beaches, sailing and the nearby Alps.
- Lecco BranchThe eastern branch: the Grigne above the lake and a train that stops in almost every village.
- The TriangleThe mountains between the lake's two branches: trails, the Ghisallo and the gorges.