What is Bagolino known for?

Three-day February carnival of Balari dancers in inherited costumes, led by violin and guitar Sonadur in tunes closer to Austria than Brescia. Hard, saffron-tinted mountain cheese, made from Alpine Brown cow milk in Bagolino alone, about 10,000 wheels produced each year. The third largest church in the province of Brescia, built in three years in the early seventeenth century, with Titian and Tintoretto inside.

Bagolino is a comune in the province of Brescia, Lombardy region of Italy, about 78 kilometers from Brescia.

Lombardy · Brescia

Bagolino

A mountain village at 778 meters in the Valle del Caffaro, with a three-day February carnival of masked dancers and violins.

778m

Elevation

78 km / 48 mi

Nearest hub (Brescia)

3,761

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Bagolino sits at 778 meters in the Valle del Caffaro, the right flank of the Valle Sabbia, on the road that runs from Brescia to Lake Idro and over the Crocedomini pass into Val Camonica. The name probably traces to Pagolus, small village; the place was a Roman horse-changing station before anything else. From the seventh century it sat in the Lombard duchy of Trento, then under the prince-bishops of Trento until the Venetian Republic took it over. The Chiesa di San Giorgio, designed by Giovanni Battista Lantana and built in three years in the early seventeenth century, is the third largest church in the province, with works attributed to Titian, Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane and Pietro Mera. The Carnevale di Bagolino runs three days each February: Balari in inherited costumes, dancing to the violin and guitar of the Sonadur in tunes closer to Austria than Brescia. Bagòss, the saffron-tinted hard cheese, is still made here from Alpine Brown cow milk, about 10,000 wheels a year.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa di San Giorgio
Third largest church in the province of Brescia, designed by Giovanni Battista Lantana and built in three years in the early seventeenth century, with works attributed to Titian and Tintoretto.
Centro storico
Stone-house medieval village stacked on the slope above the Caffaro, with covered passages and the dark wood balconies typical of the Lombard prealps.
Chiesa di San Rocco
Sixteenth-century votive church on the village edge, dedicated to the plague saint, with frescoes inside and a small porch facing the valley.
Lago d'Idro
Glacial pre-alpine lake at 368 meters, the highest of the Lombard pre-alpine lakes, reached at Ponte Caffaro, the frazione of Bagolino on the shore.
Passo del Maniva
Mountain pass at 1,664 meters above the village, leading toward Val Trompia, with summer hiking and a small winter ski station.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the season at 778 meters. June, July and September are the strongest: alpine pastures green, the Maniva pass open, Lago d'Idro warm enough to swim, the village cool at night while Brescia bakes. August fills with weekend visitors from the Bresciano plain, especially when the Bagòss producers open their cellars. The Carnevale itself runs three days in February: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of the carnival week, when the village center turns into a closed stage for the dancers. Outside the carnival weekend, the deep winter months are quiet and the road from Lavenone climbs through snow. November and April are shoulder, with most hotels closed.