My wife and I have always had a soft heart for Lake Como since we lived in Milano, Italy many years ago. The atmosphere was always happy for us, especially in the warmer months. Sitting at a cafe with a glass of wine, watching the passing crowd or mixing with the locals is our joy. I should digress that when we lived in Milano, in the winter, we bypassed Bellano on our way to ski. We did have our priorities.
I worked very hard in the eight years we lived in Italy, but I always felt I was on vacation. Sitting in one of the many outdoor cafes enjoying a glass of wine or (heaven forbid) an afternoon cappuccino, Bellano is one the towns we loved. In addition to satisfying our schmoozing needs, there is a lot to see and do.
First, a little about the location. Lake Como is in the shape of an inverted letter Y. The bottom of the westerly leg is the familiar town of Como. The easterly bottom is the town of Lecco.
Bellano is on the eastern shore of the lake up just north of Varenna, the major hub for the train and the ferries which service the lake.
The lake itself is beautiful and surrounded by Alpine peaks. Not too long ago, these peaks were snow covered even in the warm months. No longer. Climate change has tragically left these peaks rocky and naked in summer, but still beautiful.
Bellano, in addition to being in a great location for traveling tourism because it’s near everything, has it’s own attractions. On the main street which parallels the lake shore are a string of cafes and restaurants, each one having it’s own flavor and food variety. The restaurants we liked were the Pizzeria Restaurant Bernina and one that we used to eat at many years ago – The Cavallo Bianco – white horse for the language handicapped. It has beautiful outdoor seating which overlooks the lake. Both restaurants have outdoor seating in the summer and not surprisingly, they serve great Italian dishes.
The main natural feature of Bellano is the Orrido. In fact, its’s a major feature of the Lake Como area. It’s a series of gorges about 300 feet deep which formed over millions of years by the Puivera stream, There are several trails to get you there and when you arrive, there are walking bridges overlooking the gorges and beautiful waterfalls. It is an experience.
But the thing that blew our minds was the Giancarlo Vitali museum. He was a Bellano resident and an incredible artist who died not too long ago. It’s hard to believe he is not more well known. Many of his paintings are very large and overwhelming in their beauty. The museum itself is worth an entire day for an art lover.
Bellano also has a sports complex park with a pool for people who are not beach lovers. So you can keep active even if you don’t walk. But I can almost guarantee that walking will dominate your stay. It certainly dominated mine.
Bellano is only one town north of Varenna which is the hub of the Como ferry system. It goes from Varenna to Menaggio which is on the west side of the lake and has much activity and access to the lake. There is also a ferry to Bellagio, a famous town on the peninsula at Como’s inverted “Y.” Bellagio was at one time a mecca for writers. I don’t know if it still is but I do know that in summer, it is a veritable madhouse.
One day we wanted to take the ferry to Menaggio. We took the five minute train ride from Bellano and got on a long line in Varenna to buy tickets. Varenna was incredibly crowded and much to the sorrow of my ancient knees, it turned out to be the wrong line, the Bellagio ticket line.
It was at least a half mile long, which damn near ruined my vacation. With a stroke of luck, when we returned in late afternoon, there was a connection with a ferry from Varenna to Bellano which saved us and my knees, a large dose of walking.
Bellano is an hour train ride from Milano or, with a car, somewhat shorter. And if, in Bellano, you get the wanderlust, you can drive north to Switzerland and up the Maloja Pass, which is a driver’s experience, into the Engadine valley and the valley towns of Maloja, Sils, Silvaplane and beautiful St. Moritz. The whole valley is a hikers paradise in summer.