The eight churches walk

Above Gravedona the slopes facing the lake are dotted with churches and oratories, a sign of the villages' devotion to their saints.

The loop starts and ends at Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church of the Augustinian convent built from 1467, and climbs by mule tracks and chestnut woods to Naro, where Santa Croce, from the early sixteenth century, has frescoes by Andrea and Sigismondo De Magistris of 1529. From there it goes on to Peglio for Santi Eusebio e Vittore, to Traversa for fifteenth-century San Martino, and to Dosso del Liro for San Pietro in Costa, alone in the woods, with apse frescoes of 1532. It comes down through Negrana, with Santi Nabore e Felice, and closes at the church of Santi Gusmeo e Matteo, frescoed by the Fiammenghino.

1. 01A 10.5-kilometre loop from Santa Maria delle Grazie, between 250 and 720 metres: a demanding route of about four hours, for any season.
2. 02The route is signed at the junctions for Segna, Naro, Peglio, Traversa, San Pietro in Costa and Negrana.
3. 03Santa Maria delle Grazie and Santi Gusmeo e Matteo, at the start and the end, keep their own hours; the hamlet churches along the way are mostly seen from outside.

WhereGravedona ed Uniti