BRUNATE - I'LL BE BACK
Easy walk halfway up the hill starting from Brunate and arriving in Torno.
From Torno you return to Como by bus or with the boats that operate in the first basin of the lake all year round.
ITINERARY: Brunate - Monte Piatto - Torno
TOTAL DURATION: 2:30 h
DIFFICULTY: easy, mostly flat path
ROUTE: from Como you go up to Brunate with the funicular departing from the lakeside. The cars complete the climb in approximately 7 minutes. Upon arrival, go down the station stairs and take via Roma to the right, flanked by charming villas that date back to the times of the tourist fortune of this locality: you come across Villa Pirotta (Federico Frigerio, 1902), in the Tre Fontane with the Campari advertising bas-relief from the 1930s. Turn left into via Nidrino passing in front of the Chalet Sonzogno (1902). Leaving via Monte Rosa on the right, you go down to the sports field. After passing the football field, on the right take a slightly downhill path marked as Strada Regia. You reach the Blevio Mountains, leave the Strada Regia which goes down to Capovico and continue straight, on level ground, until you reach the Sorto Mountains (55min). Climbing a few steps there is a plateau with a small chapel and a fountain, which enjoys a decent view and is perfectly suited to a small refreshment stop.
Continue on level ground along a meadow, pass a valley and reach another cluster of houses. Continue along the same road crossing another inlet, then between the houses of the Monti di Cazzanore (1h
15'), after a slight bend to the right, you will find the only fork in the route: you go up to the right, flanking some disused buildings, you enter another small valley where you will begin to glimpse the first houses of Monte in the bush Dish. Once you reach the mule track coming from Torno (1h 30min), you turn right and after a few uphill steps, you arrive in the village where you can also find Crotto Montepiatto, a typical restaurant with local cuisine.
Both the church of S. Elisabetta are worth a visit, for the remarkable panorama, and the Pietra Pendula, a large erratic boulder that appears to be precariously balanced on another smaller stone (10min - directions).
To go down to Torno, from Monte Piatto, you can choose between a cart track and a stepped mule track. Travel time is the same, about 1 hour.
To return from Torno, you can choose between the buses that pass on the provincial road and the boats that dock in the beautiful port square.