Castles Around Lake Como

Castles Around Lake Como: Testimonies of a Rich Historical Past

Already in the late Roman era, after the fall of the Western Empire, the Lario assumed a fundamental strategic role both during the Gothic War and during the Lombard occupation. The protection of the territory became even more important in the Middle Ages when the lake played a crucial role as a passage route linked to trade between northern and southern Europe.

Several fortifications were therefore built in strategic positions. These structures guarded not only the lake, but also the Valsassina and the Swiss border. Their primary role was defensive, protecting both the territory and the population.

Throughout the entire territory, these types of fortifications can be found; on the Como shore we find Castello Baradello in Como and the Castle of Rezzonico in San Siro; on the Lecco branch we find the Castle of Corenno Plinio and the Tower of Orezia in Dervio, flanked by the magnificent Castle of Vezio above Varenna; a little further south, in the oldest districts of Mandello del Lario, there is the Barbarossa Tower in Maggiana. In the city of Lecco there is the Visconti Tower, while just outside the city are the Castle of Rossino in Calolziocorte, the Castle of the Unnamed in Vercurago and the Castle of Brivio on the Adda. The North is protected instead by the more recent Forte Fuentes and Forte Montecchio Nord.