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Italy's 27 most beautiful villages in Lombardy

from IN-LOMBARDIA.IT

In addition to the cities of art, the villages tell of a "tiny" Lombardy, but certainly not a minor one.

The 27 we propose are counted among the "Most Beautiful Villages in Italy." Surrounded by unique landscapes, they guard tradition, authenticity, architecture, unsuspected hidden treasures and countless gastronomic delights.

To discover the villages, spring is the ideal season, when the nature of gardens and forests is at its best. In summer, fun is guaranteed, including mountain trips, bike rides and swimming at the lake. Then there is autumn, between grape harvests and village festivals. And finally, a winter of snow and traditional celebrations.

Any time of the year is good to get away!

Bagolino (BS)
Bagolino, a medieval village dating back to Roman times that is found along the road that connects Lake Idro with Mount Maniva and the Gaver plain. It is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, and in addition to its Carnival it is famous for the Transumanza. It is forbidden to leave the village without tasting Bagòss, a delicious cheese with saffron that takes its name from its inhabitants.

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Bellano (LC)
On the eastern shore of Lake Como, not far from Lecco and about an hour from Milan, Bellano, in addition to interesting historical and cultural attractions, is also an excellent starting point for excursions on the lake and inland. Not to be missed is a visit to the Orrido, a natural gorge created about 15 million years ago by the Pioverna stream whose waters have shaped gigantic potholes and evocative caverns.

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Bienno (BS)
Its medieval center of mighty stone walls, among narrow alleys and tall houses, offers almost all original portals decorated with friezes and coats of arms chiseled in stone, while Renaissance palaces are provided with elegant loggias; well-preserved churches and tall towers appear among the cobbled courtyards.

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Cassinetta di Lugagnano (MI)
On the Naviglio Grande, in the protected area of the Ticino Park, it is the place of choice for the wealthy Milanese bourgeoisie of yesteryear, who sought luxury, delight and coolness along the canal that runs down from Lake Maggiore to the Darsena. The two cores of the village, on opposite banks of the Naviglio, are connected by a humpbacked, paved bridge rebuilt in 1862.

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Castellaro Lagusello (MN)
A city wall facing a small lake. From the 11th century, its structure remains almost intact: a medieval courtyard with crenellated walls that must have contained the houses and vegetable gardens of the peasants, with the noble residence in place of the military garrison and river stones for paving. All around, moraine hills, plowed fields and a heart-shaped lake surrounded by reeds.

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Castelponzone (CR)
The ancient walled hamlet of the rope-makers of Castelponzone has lost its walls, but seeks to recover the rural and artisan charm of yesteryear. People come here for the praise of country life, for the nostalgia of the rows of trees that bordered the fields, for the low vision of the plains: open horizons, the scent of flowers and flowing waters. Simple life and hearty cuisine.

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Clusone (BG)
It constitutes the most important center of the Seriana Valley, just over 30 km from Bergamo. Very interesting is the well-preserved historic core arranged on several levels. The iconic centerpiece of the village is the Piazza dell'Orologio: inside the Town Hall, a medieval tower preserves an important and ingenious planetary clock. The top of the village is dominated by the splendid staircase leading to the Basilica dell'Assunta. Opposite it, don't miss a visit to the Oratorio dei Disciplini, famous for its precious exterior frescoes, including the well-known Dance Macabre.

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Corenno Plinio (LC)
A charming village nestled between lake and mountains. This is Corenno Plinio, which bases its history in Europe's deep past, from the Celts through the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages. The fortified village, overlooking the Lario, Lecco shore, is characterized by splendid staircases carved into the rock, precious historical evidence, floral glimpses and ancient dwellings. A magical place, suspended between legend and poetry, all to visit, learn about and photograph.

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Cornello dei Tasso (BG)
Beautiful village reachable only on foot through some comfortable mule tracks where time seems to have stopped. The small village, always very isolated in time, has preserved all the historical characteristics of the mountain village, with its purely medieval layout, stone houses, arcades, ancient little church, and paintings on the facades of the houses. (ph: visitbergamo.net)

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Fortunago (PV)
A tiny village of Celtic origins perched on a hilltop, for a return to the Middle Ages. Cobbled streets and stone houses make it up, amid oak and chestnut forests. A tower remains in memory of the ancient fortress and a stretch of wall. An annual festival that awards prizes to the best producers of Salame di Varzi dell'Oltrepò is a mouthwatering pretext to admire the village's beautiful recovery.

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Gardone Riviera (BS)
Gardone Riviera offers a special microclimate, lush nature, an elegant atmosphere and a charming lakefront that often comes alive, especially during the summer season, with musical and cultural events. The village is famous for the Vittoriale degli Italiani, the monumental home of the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, now home to a prestigious museum.

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Golferenzo (PV)
Dominating its many hamlets from above, Golferenzo offers a beautiful view of the Versa Valley and its extensive vineyards. This town in the Oltrepo' Pavese area is home to important wine-making ventures. The small, quiet stone hamlet of Lombard origin, with its current 180 inhabitants, impeccably preserves its historic center. The church dedicated to St. Nicholas and the remains of the castle are also interesting to visit. (ph: Municipality of Golferenzo)

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Gradella (CR)
The village made its first appearance in history when Frederick Barbarossa granted it to Milan along with other possessions. That was in 1186. In the province of Cremona, Gradella is now a poetic patch of the Po Valley: with houses plastered in yellow and profiled in brick, communicating courtyards and porticoed facades.

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Thank you (MN)
A well-preserved historic core that has coexisted for centuries in deep symbiosis with its surroundings. An ancient village of peasants and fishermen, it is embraced by the Mincio River, which precisely in that position forms a bend that directs it toward Mantua. The historic core is represented by the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Grace in elegant Lombard Gothic style.

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Gromo (BG)
Perched on a rocky promontory, surrounded by meadows and fir woods Gromo, famous in antiquity for its iron and silver mines and white-weapon factories, retains the compact medieval fabric in the upper part of the town. The heart of the village is the scenic Piazza Dante with the 13th-century Ginami Castle.

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Lovere (BG)
With its medieval alleys, colorful palaces and Lake Iseo, Lovere is the perfect destination for a romantic getaway, between a coffee in the splendid Piazza XIII Martiri, a boat trip, a walk in the mountains or a dip in art, preciously guarded within the walls of the village churches or in the prestigious Tadini Art Gallery.

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Maccagno Imperiale (VA)
Driving along the main road that climbs along the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore (SS394), one comes across this delightful village, whose visit can begin at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Punta, located right on the medieval fortifications of Maccagno Imperiale. This small fiefdom was administered by the Milanese Mandelli family from the 1200s onward, and the urban layout of streets and lanes, set among the houses of the present-day municipality of Maccagno con Pino and Veddasca, dates back to that period. Guarding the village from above is the ancient Imperial Tower. Very scenic is the view from Maccagno over Verbano, a must-see destination for tourists visiting this part of the lake.

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Monte Isola (BS)
It rises from the azure waters of Lake Iseo and is simultaneously mountain, lake and island, with the gradations of color from nature. The houses blooming with geraniums, the narrow alleys connected by arches and stairs, the smell of drying fish, make it a place of charm, a treasure to be discovered, reached only by boat.

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Morimondo (MI)
A village strongly characterized by the famous Cistercian abbey. Here the Lombard brick with its red color imposes itself on the changing sky, when the horizon is veiled by the mist rising from ditches, fountains and resurgences. This landscape of river, meadows, woods, rice fields and farmsteads received its agricultural vocation from the monks. Today it is also an important destination for tourists and visitors from all over the world.

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Pomponesco (MN)
A square beloved by great filmmakers that overlooks the Po River and encapsulates the Po Valley imagination. Streets and canals, the Garzaia nature reserve, the main embankment, a square, and here is Pomponesco, a Gonzaga that is mirrored in the Po, with rows of trees in front of the arcades.

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Sabbioneta (MN)
A small urban jewel of inestimable value, born of the humanistic dream of Vespasian, an enlightened prince and follower of Vitruvius. This ideal city was built from nothing in the second half of the 1500s. Vespasian wanted to make it the city of art and culture, a sort of small Athens. Today Sabbioneta retains its urban structure almost intact, embraced by starry walls and fine Renaissance buildings.

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San Benedetto Po (MN)
The history of this village merges with that of the Benedictine monastery of Polirone. In San Benedetto Po, the noises of productive life are lost in the silences of the countryside, with the landscape dotted with oratories, abbey villas, parish churches and agricultural courtyards, where the monks' valuable reclamation work is still visible. In the village you enter through the ancient monastery entrance and are immediately in the majestic square, which has remained intact since the Middle Ages.

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Soncino (CR)
Wards and canals surrounding the red brick walls: this is Soncino, a walled village and oasis of Renaissance beauty in the countryside. A true open-air museum, far from stress and traffic, it is the ideal village for those who want to take a plunge into the past, strolling among the Rocca Sforzesca, the Civic Tower, and the Printers' House.

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Tremezzina (CO)
The elegance of the Victorian villas and the majesty of the enchanting gardens are two of Tremezzina's many secrets. One is dazzled by the beauty of the lush gardens and 18th-century mansions. In this garden-village, located on Lake Como, one can relax before the wonders of human ingenuity and nature.

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Tremosine del Garda (BS)
Suspended between the mountains and the lake, Tremosine sul Garda tells of rural life and the centuries-old isolation broken by the Strada della Forra. A village where the charm of unspoiled nature appeases the spirit and life flows simply and quietly, following the rhythm of the seasons.

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Varzi (PV)
Visiting the medieval historic center of Varzi, in the heart of the Oltrepò pavese, is like taking a trip into the past, where eight centuries of history can be read in the architectural evidence of churches, towers and its castle. Relaxed rhythms and genuine flavors characterize this small village in the Staffora Valley, where you can appreciate dishes and products of the very tasty food and wine tradition, such as braised meat ravioli or the famous PDO salami, a product of this area.

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Zavatterello (PV)
A valley suspended in time, where history can be read everywhere, in the agrarian landscape shaped by man as in the castles, ancient parish churches and abbeys. Here lies Zavattarello, a village with a very ancient military tradition, with the imposing fortress towering above the village clinging to the hillside. Descending into the square, you can see the stone buildings-ancient medieval houses-that preserve the original urban structure.

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