Colonno to Sala Comacina – Touring the towns of Lake Como
July 5, 2024
We’re still working our way down the west of Lake Como and on this side our last explore was of Lenno and the beautiful Villa Balbianello. Â Moving south takes us to Ossuccio, Sala Comacina and Colonno. Â It’s possible to travel between all of these on foot as this is part of the 6-mile long Greenway del Lago, which starts in Colonno and ends in Griante. Â We’ve walked the rest of the path before while exploring Tremezzo and Lenno. Â This is exploring at its best as the path takes you away from the main streets, through small alleys and traffic-free lanes; sometimes skirting the lake-side and sometimes climbing up above the towns allowing opportunities to view Lake Como from a great vantage point. Â This section of Lake Como has so much to see….where to start?
The Greenway del Lago - Colonno to Ossuccio
We started at the beginning of the Greenway del Lago, in Colonno. Â Parking at the southern edge of the town, the path starts up in the small streets of Colonno, with fine views over Lake Como. Â We followed the path through Sala Comacina all the way to Ossuccio. Â There are so many buildings and sights to see en-route and just the ambience of walking through the unfrequented lanes of a village and hearing Italian life happening from within the beautiful pastel coloured houses.
What to see
- Firstly walking through  the narrow lanes of Colonno, the views over the town and across the lake are amazing.
- Look north and take in the views of Isola Comacina, Lake Como’s only island.
- The churches passed in this area are exceptional (in my opinion of course), especially  Chiesa di San Giacomo and Chiesa Santa Maria Maddalena.  Both framed nicely by Lake Como.
- Taking the walk a little past Ossuccio means we got a peek at the very classic-Italian Villa Balbiano.
Isola Comacina
The only island on Lake Como. We took the traditional Lake Como fishing boat (called a Lucia) from the Lido di Ossuccio to the Isola Comacina. It only took about 5 minutes but the views back to Ossuccio and of Lake Como were spectacular. The island is small, but a walk up to the small church, Basilica di Sant’Eufemia and then around the island to the remains of a monastery are an absolute delight. Added bonus, there is a small café that serves coffee, gelato and a few other things. So, as we waited for our return boat, we enjoyed a gelato while dangling our feet in the lake. How idyllic is that.
Sacro Monte di Ossuccio - walking a pilgrimage route
This is a pilgrimage walk starting in Ossuccio (or if one prefers it’s possible to start nearer the first temple and park at Parking Perlana, underground and free!). The walk from the lake is up through the village along roads until the first temple is reached. From there the path is the old Strada Regina (royal road), which is cobbled and almost free of traffic.
The Sacri Monti (sacred mountains) are UNESCO world heritage sites (there are 9 sacri monti in Piemonte and Lombardia) that are each a pilgrimage up a mountain to a sanctuary and on each pilgrimage there are a number of chapels which have paintings and sculptures by famous artists depicting the story of Christ.  The pilgrimage from Ossuccio has 14 small chapels on the route up to the Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso. 
The sculptures and paintings inside are quite something to see and the detail in some of the sculptures is very realistic (down to the goiter shown in several, which apparently was a common ailment of the day…lovely).Â
Only photos will show how intricate and amazing they were.Â
Dining delights in Sala Comacina
Trattoria San Giacomo
If you can get past the fact that this restaurant is next to the road, the views over Lake Como and the Oratorio di San Giacomo are spectacular. The restaurant specializes in fish and they certainly know how to cook it. As we quite often do, we started with the selection of lake fish. Usually this involves 4 or 5 variations of fish from the lake, typically a missoltini, some fish mouse, a cooked fish with herbs and some pickled fish with pickled vegetables. This version didn’t disappoint and even had the added bonus of deep-fried polenta (trust me, this was so good even Clark liked it and he normally avoids polenta).
Locanda La Tirlindana
Where next on Lake Como?
So sad we are not there with you looks really lovely
Looks fab, counting down to next year when we can come and join the fun x