Things to do and see in Laglio on Como Lake

Laglio is a small town located on the western shore of Como Lake, just 15 kilometers north of Como. The village is a great starting point for walks along the lake and through the surrounding hills, from which you can admire a panorama of rare beauty. The slopes above the village are rich in vineyards, olive groves and laurel plants, the ones from which was once extracted the laurel oil, famous for its medicinal qualities. After decades of amazing anonymity, Laglio gained some notoriety when the famous actor George Clooney bought the historic Villa Oleandra in 2002, making it his summer residence.

Since then, this small town on Como Lake has indeed become a favorite place to visit for paparazzi, fans or merely curious people, to the point that the city council had to approve a specific regulation in order to protect Clooney’s privacy (and the one of his extremely famous guests), forbidding everyone from standing in the immediate proximity of the villa. Villa Oleandra is located near a quaint harbor and it was built on an ancient Roman settlement; it’s also part of one larger property together with three other adjacent buildings, all connected to one another by elegant scaffoldings.

There are so many things to do and, most of all, to see in Laglio. Not far from the village, in the hamlet of Torriggia, is the so-called Bear Hole, a karst cave with three underground lakes which goes hundreds of feet deep. Its curious name comes from the fossil bones that were found inside of it: they belonged to the Ursus Spelaeus, a species of bear that lived during the Quaternary period. Completely different but equally interesting, is the Pyramid of Frank, a bizarre funerary monument erected in the Nineteenth century. It’s about twenty meters high and it was commissioned by the Austrian physician Joseph Frank.

There are also two very beautiful churches in Laglio: San Bartolomeo in Torriggia was built during the Eighteenth century and among other things, it contains a remarkable wooden statue of the saint; San Gerolamo in Germanello is a little temple which marks the terminal point of the fourteen chapels of the Stations of the Cross, situated all the way up from the lake shore.

Laglio is easily reached from Como on the SS340 Via Regina. Coming from Milan and Switzerland, you shall take the "Lago di Como" exit off the A9, following the signs to Menaggio after that. For those who prefer public transport, Laglio is served by the C10/20 bus line Como-Argegno, which will take you to the railway stations of both Lago di Como and Como San Giovanni.