What to See in Bellagio - Top Sights and Attractions

Lake in Italy. Lake Como, also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 square kilometres, making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe, and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres below sea level.

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have had and have homes on the shores of Lake Como.

One of its particularities is its characteristic "Y" shape, which forms the so-called "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

In 2014, The Huffington Post called it the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.^[1]

Scenic hill popular among cyclists. Madonna del Ghisallo is a hill in Magreglio, close to Lake Como in Italy. It is named after an alleged Marian apparition.

According to the legend, the Medieval count Ghisallo was travelling by the hamlet of Magréglio when he was attacked by bandits. He saw an image of Virgin Mary at a shrine, ran to it and was saved from the robbers. The apparition became known as La Madonna del Ghisallo, and she became a patroness of local travellers.

In later times, the hill Madonna del Ghisallo was made part of the Giro di Lombardia bicycle race and has often featured in the Giro d'Italia as well. The church sits atop a steep hill that climbs up from the shores of Lake Como. It became a natural stopping point for cyclists.

For this reason a local priest, Father Ermelindo Vigano, proposed that La Madonna del Ghisallo be declared the patroness of cyclists. This was confirmed by Pope Pius XII. Nowadays the shrine of Madonna del Ghisallo contains a small cycling museum with photos and artifacts from the sport. There also burns an eternal flame for cyclists who have died. One particularly notable artifact is the crumpled bicycle that Fabio Casartelli, a native of the region, rode on the day that he died in a crash in the Tour de France.

The church is home to many bikes and cycling jerseys used by cyclists in races. The Fondazione Museo del Ciclismo-Madonna del Ghisallo was created in 2000. Its first action was to organize a torch relay from the chapel to the Vatican, delivering the torch to the then Pope John Paul II. In 2010 a bike museum, the Museo del Ciclismo, opened nearby.

The Colle del Ghisallo is a mountain pass road that connects the upper part of Valassina Larian Triangle. The point of the pass, at an altitude of 754 m above sea level, is located near Magreglio.^[2]

The church of San Giorgio is located in Bellagio, next to the town hall. It is coeval with the Basilica of San Giacomo, the town's main church: like this one, it dates from the 11th-12th centuries.

Originally the apse and altar faced east; they were later moved to the opposite side, thus moving the entrance toward the street. The oratory attached to the church has, since 1658, been the seat of the local Confraternity of the Cinturati.

The Romanesque style, typical of the time when the church was built, survives in some exterior elements, notably: in the stone ashlar perimeter wall, the splay windows, and the small portal. Singular is the piggyback bell tower along Salita Genazzini. Inside, there is an 11th-century fresco of Our Lady of the Belt and a wooden statue of the same, which is carried in procession on the second Sunday in September by tradition.