Lombardy · Bergamo
Lovere
An amphitheater town at the north end of Lake Iseo, in Borghi più belli since 2003, with Canova plasters inside the Accademia Tadini.
Known for
ACCADEMIA TADINI
Neoclassical museum founded 1829, with original Canova plaster models and the family chapel by the same Count Tadini.
AMPHITHEATER ON IL SEBINO
Position at the northwest corner of Lake Iseo, with the town curving along the shore between water and Bergamasque foothills.
VENETIAN WOOL
Renaissance wealth built on woolen cloth production and trade under the Republic of Venice, the period that filled the centro with palaces.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Bartolomea Capitanio, 18 May
Why come
Lovere stretches like a natural amphitheater along the northwest corner of Lake Iseo, between the lake and the Bergamasque foothills. The town has been in I Borghi più belli d'Italia since 2003 and was the only Lombardia commune to finish in the top twenty of the 2018 Borgo dei Borghi ranking. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, writing from here in the eighteenth century, called it the most romantic place she had ever seen.
The first settlement on this shore goes back to the fifth and fourth centuries BC, with a Celtic core, and the town grew rich under Venetian rule on wool cloth production and trade. The Renaissance Basilica di Santa Maria in Valvendra was built from 1473 over a diverted stream and consecrated in 1520. The Accademia Tadini, founded in 1829 by Count Luigi Tadini, holds original plaster models by Antonio Canova including the Amorino Alato.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Lovere’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.
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What to see
Accademia Tadini
Neoclassical art gallery founded 1829, with original Canova plaster models including the Amorino Alato and a Lombard-Venetian painting collection.
Basilica di Santa Maria in Valvendra
Renaissance basilica begun 1473 over a diverted stream, consecrated in 1520, with Venetian-influenced classical façade.
Piazza XIII Martiri
Main lakefront square, anchored by colored façades and arcades, the central social space of the centro storico.
Medieval towers of Lovere
Surviving towers from the fortified medieval phase of the town, visible above the rooftops of the lower borgo.
Lovere lakefront promenade
Lake Iseo waterfront, with ferry pier connecting to Pisogne, Monte Isola and Sarnico on the southern end of the lake.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Lovere fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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Living here
- Population 4,964
- Off the beaten pathi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Milan, 51 min drive
- Regional capital Milano, 1 h 37 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 200 m
- Population: 4,964
- Surface area: 7.92 km²
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
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A high-valley commune at 870 meters under the Pizzo della Presolana, the limestone peak the Bergamasque call the Queen of the Orobie.
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A small lakeside village on the Bergamo shore of Lake Iseo, sitting on a 15,000-square-meter Roman villa with intact thermal baths underneath.
Sarnico
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A medieval lake town at the southern tip of Lago d'Iseo, where the Oglio leaves the lake and Liberty villas line the shore.
🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
More Borghi più belli d'Italia towns in Lombardy
Bagolino
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A walled medieval borgo south of Lake Garda, ringed by 13th-century stone walls and overlooking a small heart-shaped natural lake that gives the village its second name and most-photographed silhouette.