Pro Loco Lanzo Scaria, Municipality of Alta Valle Intelvi
Official site of PRO LOCO LANZO SCARIA – Municipality of Alta Valle Intelvi
Introduction
To visitors of Alta Valle Intelvi – Lanzo Scaria Municipality
Pro Loco Lanzo Scaria has the main task of making known and appreciating the beauty of the place where it operates. For us it is not a difficult task, we are surrounded by a wonderful nature, we can enjoy spectacular views and we can also admire the work of man who in the past has been able to create in this place, wonderful architectural and artistic works that we will be happy to show you. Well then arrived, on the site of the Pro Loco of Lanzo Scaria.
Carla Cereghini – Pro Loco Lanzo Scaria President
Lanzo Scaria, an integral part of the Alta Valle Intelvi municipality, in the Province of Como, stands on a plateau approx. 1000 m. altitude, for a long time is one of the most popular holiday resorts in Lombardia.
Between meadows and flat fields, dark woods and rolling hills, this place is immersed in a unique and enchanting scenery, at the foot of Monte Generoso which is the natural border with neighboring Switzerland, this area is able to offer breathtaking views, one of all the Balcony of Italy on the Vetta Sighignola.
In this way, hiking enthusiasts can conquer the peaks that crown the Valle d’Intelvi, cover a myriad of paths or go into pristine secular parks. Anyone, on foot or even on a mountain bike can experience unforgettable experiences.
Other activities that can be practiced especially in the summer are horse riding, tennis, golf and swimming in the nearby municipal pool of Centro Valle Intelvi. Lanzo is also a true paradise for winter sports. On the Vigh Sighignola enthusiasts will find a ski school for children and gentle downhill slopes lined with coniferous woods. Cross-country skiers will find a dedicated slope next to the golf course.
Alta Valle Intelvi and in particular Lanzo and Scaria have a rich cultural heritage based on the history, the customs of the population and local traditions.
The church of San Siro and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Loreto in Lanzo, the Churches of S. Maria and Church of SS. Nazaro and Celso in Scaria where you will also find a museum of sacred art and a small fossil museum.
Lanzo and Scaria offer throughout the year, but especially in summer, a myriad of initiatives of all kinds and for all ages, from the village fair, to concerts, music festivals and entertainment for children.
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What’s on the Valley
Leaving Como or Lugano Lakes and driving along the roads that from Argegno or Porlezza lead to Alta Valle Intelvi, a tourist sight can wander through peaks, woods, meadows and villages where time seems to have stopped. The two lakes embracing the valley are full of wonderful sights that one can admire from the numerous “belvedere” or from the pastures nearby. The sight awaiting for the tourist on Sighignola Vetta (1320 m.), at only ten minutes from the village centre, is of a different breathtaking intensity: from the ‘Balcone d’Italia’ a tourist will have a unique sight in front: one can admire the Italian Alps, the Swiss Alps and the two lakes, in a sequence of peaks and plain lands making the sight magnificent!
Thanks to its unique climatic environment, the territory of Comune of Alta Valle Intelvi houses very diverse fauna: wondering through woods and paths one can easily meet foxes, deer, fawns, badgers, wild boars, as well as birds, from the great tits, to the woodpeckers and, of course, the growling owls.
A particular reference must be given to the story of the Bisbino Horses: 25 animals of Avelignese race ground to the slaughterhouse where adopted by a local Onlus set up to feed them. The wonderful horses spend the winter months on a local ground and the summer months on the meadows of Generoso Mountain. Every year the passage of ‘Bisbini’ is followed by many people coming even from the nearby Switzerland.
The Intelvi Valley is up to the expectations of many tourists: sportspeople, young families with children and elderly can find the human aspect of life, enjoy an unsoiled environment, follow its rhythms, having back that serendipity filling the spirit.
Just to begin with, we can suggest our tourists ‘to take it easy’, wondering along paths this beautiful territory offers anyone… the rest will come!
Have a nice stay in the Comune of Alta Valle Intelvi.
Villa Turconi
In the heart of Lanzo d’Intelvi you can admire the prestigious Villa Turconi, now home to important exhibitions. The construction of the enchanting residence began in 1918 and ended in 1923.
The villa is built entirely of exposed stone and is the work of Alberto Ferrero.
Many “picapreda” of Lanzo and the Valley worked on the construction of the imposing building, led by Guido Novi who directed and followed these exclusive craftsmen in the insertion of polychrome stones that are unique elements of the Villa’s decoration.
The Villa was built in 1918 at the behest of Leonardo Turconi (1873 -1942), real estate owner and enthusiast of art and archeology who, after becoming a very young widower due to his wife’s departure while giving birth to his child, he commissioned to his friend Ferrero the building of the prestigious residence in Lanzo not for residential purposes but rather to accommodate a sophisticated painting collection.
In 1938 Leonardo Turconi married the rich widow Dina Malinverni, a midwife in her fifties and the mother of an eighteen year old son named Eros. Leonardo died of bronchopneumonia in 1942, right in the porter’s lodge of the villa. Eros interrupted his engineering studies one step away from graduation to dedicate himself completely to the care of the family assets. Dina died in 1970 and Eros in 1996 but without heirs.
The villa was then unexpectedly passed onto the Fabbriceria del Duomo in Milan, from whom the municipality of Lanzo (now Alta Valle Intelvi) bought it back a few years later.
The villa, now a building of particular historical and artistic interest, underwent, a few years ago, an important restyling under the care of the municipality of Lanzo d’Intelvi as part of the Integrated Area Project (PIA) Ecolarius. At present, prestigious art exhibitions and beautiful weddings are being hosted in the elegant and sumptuous residence. This is a corner of the past that allows tourists and anyone who desires it to take a dive in the early 1900s, when elegance and splendor were emblematic of these places.
Museum of Sacred Art
The museum of Sacred Art was founded in 1966 in order to gather and preserve the artistic heritage of the parish church of Scaria and of other places of the “Intelvi “ Valley. The works in the museum show the migrations of craftsmen from the valley to various places in Italy and in Central Europe over the centuries. After being closed for a long time, the museum was reopened in 2015 with a renewed exhibition area, which enhances the value of the original collection.
Laid out according to subject areas, the visitor can admire valuable works such as the “Antelamica” Cross, named after Bernardo Antelami, a masterpiece of 12th century Lombard goldsmith’s art, the Processional Cross attributed to Francesco, son of Ser Gregorio from Gravedona, and the valuable small wooden statues by Ercole Ferrara. In the reconstructed rooms you can also admire some detached frescoes, which were previously inside the Church of Saint Mary and in the House of the De Allio family in Scaria, drawings and paintings by the brothers Diego Francesco and Carlo Innocenzo Carloni, and the Ornamental Setting for Forty Hours’ Celebration, known as ‘Paradisin’ (Little Heaven).
Other liturgical objects and vestments of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, which were produced in Lombardy, are worthy of attention.
From its opening, this museum has always been a cultural and tourist attraction and now this tradition is going to go on.
Museum of the fossils
Close to the Museo Diocesano, in Scaria Intelvi, it is also possible to visit the Intelvese Museum of Fossils.
The Museum was re-organised in 2015 and it displays educational panels explaining in a simple and sinthetic way the main characteristics, lifestyles and the exterior look of the fossilized prehistoric animals. The collection refers to a wide range of ages, from 310 millions till 36 thousand years ago and it also offers a general vision of the evolutive history of the surrounding territories.
Among the most significant fossils found in the area, at the museum it is possible to see the Val Sanagra coniferous, the Besano’s gulf reptiles, giurassic crustacean and sharks of Osteno d’Intelvi, fossil leaves of Re in Val Vigezzo (Ossola) and the glacial predators of Generoso Mount: the cave bear, the cave lion, Neanderthal man (whose tools were found there).
Piero Gauli Museum
The museum, located in the village of Verna, in Piazza Solari, was opened in 2003. It preserves works donated to the Town Council by Piero Gauli, one of the major contemporary artists. Among others, the paintings of the cycle Re Fame (King Hunger), inspired to the drama by L. N. Andreev, are outstanding.
Other works represent ‘the story and the life of the alpine artilleryman, second lieutenant Piero Gauli’: a historical evidence of his battle on the River Don front and of the retreat. His drawings Disegni Verdi (Green Sketches), made in the prison camp of Cholm (Poland) in 1943, are particularly worthy of attention. The clear and sharp lines create particular effects with shades of intense energy. The museum preserves also beautiful potteries of his Roman and Umbrian periods.
All this might look like a collection of casually juxtaposed works, while they show the artist’s idea to order the events of his life in a sort of autobiography.
Both the water tub portico and his paternal house are full of works and frescoes.
Little free libraries
PRENDI UN LIBRO (take a book) is a worldwide project with the aim of spreading the pleasure of reading.
The Alta Valle Intelvi municipality promoted this project, putting in the area four little wooden boxes that became like chests for books who want to meet new readers. You take a book, you leave another one.
Take a book, read it and leave another one… it is the rule that generates this virtuous exchange that spreads culture.
Lanzo d’Intelvi Historical Sites
IN LANZO:
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the Parish Church of San Siro (XIV) and its bell tower with four mullioned windows in Romanesque style, with marble altar with temple built by Carlo Antonio Carloni, frescoes of the Lombard school, the holy water font by Jacopo Novi and frontals in scagliola (typical of the Valley Art) the side altars;
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the Oratory of Our Lady of Loreto, built in 1673 on a design by Spazzi, houses the Black Madonna to which the village dedicates a series of traditional festivities;
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the ancient courts (“Ca”), a sort of condominium that consists of single-family houses, closed by a sturdy wooden door with an arched stone portal;
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the sumptuous Art Nouveau villas, designed by Sommaruga, embedded in the green of old parks and the cemetery with the graves of illustrious families, also made by the Milanese architect;
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the “massi cupelliformi”, erratic boulders bearing dimples or basins carved by human hands often communicating with each other through small channels – the most famous being the “Verceia boulder”.
IN SCARIA:
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the beautiful Church of S.S. Nazaro and Celso (XI) with the delicious seventeenth-century frescoed portico and inside frescoes by De Magistris and Tarilli (XVI);
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the Church of Santa Maria (medieval) with a beautiful eighteenth-century façade designed by Carloni – inside -frescoes by Carlo Innocenzo and stucco by Diego Carloni – of particular interest “Madonna dell’Aiuto”, copied from Cranach by a local artist;
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the Chapel of St. Lucia and St. Joseph(frescoes by Carloni) and the various shrines in town center;
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the houses of Diego and Carlo Carloni and de Allio – eminent personalities of renowned Scaria, especially abroad;
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the Roman-Barbarian tomb stones, excavated boulders visible near the cemetery.
Ramponio Verna Historical sites
IN RAMPONIO:
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The Parish Church of Saint Benedict, mentioned in a text of 1186, and the bell tower with a Baroque lantern. The interior is enriched with many works of art, mostly of the 18th century, such as the beautiful altar with marble inlays, made by Bartolomeo Della Torre and the vault fresco attributed to the Carloni brothers;
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the Oratory of St. Gaetano and the oratory of St. John Nepomucene, both of the 18th century, with stuccoes made by the Carloni and valuable frescoes;
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the Shrine of St. Pancras, dating back to the 11th century, testifies the old local worship of a very young martyr of the 4th century, traditionally celebrated every year, in the month of May. On the walls there are many frescoes by the Solari and stuccoes by the Carloni.
IN VERNA:
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The old wah tub and the house where Santino Solari lived;
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the Oratory of Our Lady, known as ‘Madonnina’, with a log-cabin façade. In the interior, a ‘scagliola’ paliotto (altar front), made by Pietro Solari, is worthy of attention;
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the Parish Church of St. Ambrose, originally in Romanesque style, with a square stone vault following the ‘Antelami’ technique;
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the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes, known as ‘of our flag’, made during the First World War by soldiers who were building fortifications;
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the Oratory of St. Anthony in the Mountains (18th century), built by Francesco Solari, with a circular lantern, which is unique in the Valley.
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the prehistoric settlement on Mount Caslè, known as ‘castelliere’, which dates back to the la last period of the Bronze Age. At the foot of the hill there is an erratic boulder whose surface shows roundish, man-made hollows.
Pellio Intelvi Historical sites
IN PELLIO INFERIORE:
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The parish church of s. Michele, documented of 1186 and re-built many times; its facade dates back to 1935 and it incorporates a portal graven in 1821. Moreover, it contains a eighteenth-century fresco attributed to the scotti family from laino, the major altarpiece attributed to carlo innocenzo carloni, while the latest paintings (20th century) were made by the milanese luigi cavallini and leopoldo carelli;
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The ex-oratory of the “madonna del fiume” (virgin of the river), know also as “garello”, probably with romanic origins, re built and decorated between 1643 and 1647 thanks to the donations of simone dario (plasterer and architecht) and ercole ferrata (sculptor), both from pellio but working in rome. The 16th century fresco and the stucco works are attributed to g. B. Barberini from laino, while the 18th century antependium was made in polychrome scagliola;
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The remains of the medieval hamlet and the house of ercole ferrata (commemorative plaque);
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The “carlasc” (castle) zone, where on 16th century structures rises a 17th century villa with its park, once owned by the writer, literary critic and philologist maria corti, native from pellio and buried in the adjacent cemetery.
IN PELLIO SUPERIORE:
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The remains of the 10th Century fort at the S. Giorgio Chrurch;
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The parish church of S. Giorgio, since 1931 dedicated to the Virgin of Caravaggio, dated back to 1186 , rebuilt in different times. Significant are the 16th Century painting (Nativity) and the coeval tabernacle, the amazing sacristy with stucco works dating to 1760 ans frescoes by Pietro Molciani. From Pellio, dating to 1769. The trilobed presbytery of 1923was decorated in 1930 by the milanese Luigi Cavallini;
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The St. Mary’s Church, originally medieval with its 16th century paintings (Madonna del Latte and St. Antonio da Padova), the amazing little marble temple (16th century) and the modern decorations of the vault made by Gaetano Corti;
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Old houses with internal arcades, stucco works and liberty decorations.
Sport Activities
In a natural context of great beauty, you’ll get the opportunity to practice many different sports.
The Golf Club Lanzo, exclusive place active since 1962, will offer you the occasion to approach to this sport or to practice it on a professional level. It is a 9 hole golf course, immerged in unique green sceneries stretching among woods and meadows of the so-called “Pian delle Noci”.
The Tennis Centre, always in Lanzo, offers you three fields one of which is in synthetic grass and therefore perfect for the practice of five-a-side football, the structure also allows the game of “bocce”, similar to bowling.
On the territory you can find modern and very well equipped horse riding centres, where they organise riding classes, rides on the mountains, they also do breeding and rehabilitation of horses.
In the localities of Pellio and Ramponio it is possible to prove your ability in engaging football tournaments in the amazing sports centres, which in summer come alive with unstoppable little players. In these centres are also available two tennis fields.
Going up to the Mount Sighignola, at the Balcony of Italy, the bravest ones can experience the adrenaline of paragliding in a breathtaking scenery.
During winter time, the sports that can be practiced on patented slopes are nordic skiing on the “Conca Smeralda” route, at “Pian delle Noci” in Lanzo, and the fascinating Sleddog (running with dogs on a sledge).
Going further up, at Mount Sighignola, you find a Ski School and the slope with its new lifts. All the paths of the Valley are perfect to be followed with snowshoes.
In the surrounding villages it is possible to practice rock climbing (a wall is in Laino), swimming (a public swimming pool in San Fedele), skeet shooting, soft air, the exclusive canyoning, biking, for which exists a bike and attire rental service, and nordic trekking.
For these last two activities are available demanding and enchanting routes between Ramponio Verna and Lanzo.
In the area exist a few sport association that help young people approaching to new activities.