Hike from Torno to Montepiatto… After our visit to the beautiful gardens of Villa Melzi, we continue to Torno. We have a little hunger but above all a great thirst for an aperitif. The bar and terrace of B&B Torno alla Riva is completely occupied. The busy Easter weekend can be felt in the smallest villages.
We ask if it is possible to order Aperol Spritz and drink it on the quay wall a little further on. Of course that’s no problem! Why make it difficult? Here you give each other something to enjoy.
We enjoy our aperitif while ferries carry day-trippers back and forth, always following the same ritual. It won’t get boring. The sun’s rays color our orange Aperol just a little more orange. We order a second round and a pizza. Leaning back over the quay wall we look at Montepiatto. The village is located just above Torno at an altitude of over 600 meters.
From Torno a walk has been described that takes you to Montepiatto and gives a nice view of Torno and Lake Como. The walk is suitable for children and is therefore labeled easy. All right, then why don’t we just go up there quickly?
We start from Piazza Enrico Caronti where we take the street Via Tridi (to the right of the bar). There is an information board and a direction indicator on the corner.
We walk out of Torno and soon we are above the village. We enter into the forest and walk along the winding path, step after step.
The higher we go, the less child-friendly the walk seems to us. Okay, the path is nicely landscaped, but pushing buggies and children up seems a bit difficult to us. And maybe a little monotonous for the little ones?
The bartender smiles and hands us another plate of charcuterie and a basket of crisps.
After 45 minutes of walking we reach Montepiatto. What can we tell about Montepiatto? Not that much… A typical Italian mountain village, rough and closed, without much frills.
For the promised view we have to walk a little further to the higher church of the village. And yes, that is of course the reward of our effort! The blue sky from earlier has now turned gray. The clouds above Lake Como are slowly closing and a wind starts blowing.
We walk another ten minutes to the Pietra Pendula. This 60-tonne boulder was maneuvered into its striking position during the Ice Age and has remained there ever since. This way Lake Como has an Italian Stonehenge!
To return you can make a loop. What’s more, you can choose from two loops. One loop continues on the path to the Pietra Pendula. The path leads to the small steep motorway along which the residents of Montepiatto drive home. The other loop continues a bit further and passes the village of Piazagga. Nice to know, you can also walk from Montepiatto to Brunate via a signposted route.
We walk down at a brisk pace. The walk took a little longer than originally thought. We have to hurry because tonight we are going to celebrate Easter at Ristorante Crotto dei Platani in Brienno!
