Along the Via Regina, from Gera to Vercana

The walk follows stretches of the historic Via Regina between Gera Lario and Domaso, past old churches and villages that have kept their former look.

You start from the churchyard of San Vincenzo at Gera Lario, go down to the lake and follow the gravel cycle and foot path for about four kilometres, past Domaso's harbour and campsites, to the mouth of the Livo. Along the wall of the seventeenth-century Villa Camilla you reach San Bartolomeo, Romanesque of the thirteenth century and remade in the eighteenth, with frescoes by Ligari. From there, across the stone bridge over the Livo, a mule track climbs to the oratory of San Silvestro and the sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve, built in memory of the dead of the plague brought by the Landsknechts and opened in 1634. A narrow passage between rock and church, with the view over the lake, leads to Cassera and Arbosto, in front of the baroque church of San Salvatore, rich in stucco, paintings and woodwork. Beyond the Valletta di Vercana you cross Aurogna, a hamlet of Trezzone that has stayed intact, with very tall stone houses, overhead passages, frescoes on the walls and cobbled lanes. A mule track with a shrine and two waymark stones leads to the Madonna delle Grazie, fifteenth-century outside and baroque inside, alone halfway between Trezzone's two hamlets; through the houses of Folciano you return to San Vincenzo.

1. 01A 9.5-kilometre loop from San Vincenzo at Gera Lario, between 215 and 350 metres, about three and a half hours: an easy route for any season.
2. 02The first four kilometres are on the lakeside cycle and foot path; from San Bartolomeo in Domaso you climb by mule tracks and steps, following the signs for Vercana, Trezzone and Gera Lario and the red and white flags.
3. 03You can also start from Domaso, halfway round, and walk the loop from San Bartolomeo.

WhereDomaso · Gera Lario