What is Bellano known for?

Gorge of the Pioverna, walked on suspended catwalks, the natural attraction that has drawn visitors to Bellano since the nineteenth century. Cotton mill opened in 1870 at the gorge mouth, making Bellano one of the rare industrial centers on Lake Como. Novelist born in Bellano in 1956, who has set most of his fiction in the lakeside streets and characters of his hometown.

When is the best time to visit Bellano?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the months Bellano works best. The lake light is sharp, the Orrido catwalks are open, and the ferry to Varenna and Menaggio runs every half hour. July and August fill the eastern shore with day-trippers from Milan and Bergamo, and the lakefront cafés take an hour to seat. November through March is quiet. Many small hotels close, the catwalks shut for winter maintenance, and the lake stays clear of haze. The view from the ferry, town stacked above the gorge mouth with Monte Croce di Muggio rising behind, is the photograph the regulars come back for.

Bellano is a comune in the province of Lecco, Lombardy region of Italy, about 79 kilometers from Monza.

How do I get to Bellano?

From Monza, Bellano is roughly 79 km by road.

Lombardy · Lecco

Bellano

An eastern Lake Como town where the Pioverna cut a gorge through fifteen million years of rock before reaching the lake.

Known for

ORRIDO
Gorge of the Pioverna, walked on suspended catwalks, the natural attraction that has drawn visitors to Bellano since the nineteenth century.
COTONIFICIO CANTONI
Cotton mill opened in 1870 at the gorge mouth, making Bellano one of the rare industrial centers on Lake Como.
ANDREA VITALI
Novelist born in Bellano in 1956, who has set most of his fiction in the lakeside streets and characters of his hometown.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Bellano sits on the eastern shore of Lake Como at the outlet of the Valsassina, where the Pioverna torrent has carved a deep gorge through rock the glaciers and the river worked for fifteen million years. The Orrido di Bellano is the result: a slot canyon a few hundred meters long, walked on suspended catwalks bolted into the cliff. By 905 the town was under the Archdiocese of Milan; the Torriani then the Visconti held it through the Middle Ages.

In 1870 the Cotonificio Cantoni opened a cotton mill near the Orrido, and Bellano became one of the few industrial centers on the lake. The brick chimney still stands at the gorge mouth. The novelist Andrea Vitali, born here, has set most of his fiction in versions of these streets. The commune joined the Borghi più belli network in 2021, and in 2020 absorbed Vendrogno, a former commune higher up Monte Croce di Muggio.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Bellano’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

By subscribing you agree to Substack’s Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy and our Information collection notice.

What to see

Orrido di Bellano
Gorge carved by the Pioverna river, walked on iron catwalks bolted into the cliff, fifteen million years of rock and water.
Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso
Fourteenth-century parish church on Piazza San Giorgio, with a rose window and façade in alternating black and white stone.
Cotonificio Cantoni
Former cotton mill at the gorge mouth, opened in 1870, with brick chimney still standing as the marker of industrial Bellano.
Ca' del Diavol
Sixteenth-century house at the gorge entrance, built by Tommaso Grossi, ornamented with grotesque masks that gave it its name.
Lakefront and ferry pier
Long promenade along the eastern shore with car-ferry service to Varenna and Menaggio across the lake.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Bellano fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Living here

Population 3,420
Commuter belti
Pharmacy in town
Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Milan, 1 h 42 min drive
Regional capital Milano, 1 h 43 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 202 m
Population: 3,420
Surface area: 22.03 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Monza

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Close by