Bordogna between mule tracks, churches and mountain landscapes

Bordogna combines a historic network of routes with churches, castle ruins and a mountain landscape shaped by water. This creates a destination where hiking routes and cultural history stand closely side by side for you.

Paths along the Valle di Fondra

At the old junction leading to the Valle di Fondra stands the Chiesa della Forcella; its porch served as accommodation for travellers. Sentiero 269 runs along a surviving historic mule track from Lenna via Bordogna, Baresi and Roncobello. At the hamlet of Forcella di Bordogna, a path that is still walkable today branches off towards the Valle di Fondra.

Rock and water in the landscape

Nearby, the Brembo flows through a gorge that the water has carved out of the rock over the course of millennia. The penstock from the Baresi reservoir to the Bordogna hydropower plant shapes the landscape. A stream along the Bordogna–Fondra–Roncobello route can occasionally turn into a waterfall; such a waterfall is visible from the provincial road towards Branzi.

Routes with different highlights

The Giro dei cantoni di Lenna e Bordogna leads to the sports-ground area of Bordogna, where picnic and barbecue areas are available. The Bordogna–Fondra–Roncobello route begins next to the Chiesa di Bordogna, follows Via Case and the mule track to Zucchero, and continues along the Ria di Spì beside the penstock of the Bordogna hydropower plant. After a short paved section, Via delle Rocce returns to the old Castello Forcella di Bordogna and passes the small cemetery of Bordogna.

Churches and an old bridge

The Chiesa della Forcella has a single-nave layout, a small bell tower and a porch. Its small mountainside chapel contains umbrella vaults, as well as frescoes on the walls and in the vault lunettes. The old bridge of Bordogna, Ponte del Bernigolo, crosses the Carona branch of the Brembo.

Church history across several periods

The Chiesa di Bordogna, Santa Maria Assunta, was built from 1715 onwards on the site of an earlier church and consecrated in 1737. It preserves the square stone bell tower of the previous church, which was later modified, among other things, by the addition of bifora windows on the east and west sides. The Cappella e Oratorio di San Rocco was built approximately between 1520 and 1526 on a former cemetery site as a votive chapel dedicated to Saint Roch and as protection against the plague.

The Castello di Forcella

The archaeological remains of the Castello di Forcella include extensive enclosing walls with a square ground plan and the remains of a tower with sides measuring approximately seven metres. The complex appears to have been built gradually from the 12th century onwards and reached a more complex form in the 14th century. It is said to have controlled the only access to the Valle di Fondra and thereby possessed a certain strategic importance.

A historic cheese-making tradition

A historic tradition of the Bordogna-Fondra family provides that the tenants of Alpe Mezzeno have continuously paid two wheels of cheese to the family's descendants since 1400.

Note about the bridge

For planning your journey, a specific date is relevant: on 24 July 2026, work began to renew the Bordogna bridge on the SP 3 “SP 2 – Roncobello”, which lies in the municipalities of Moio de' Calvi and Roncobello.

For more places, you can also explore Valleve, Lallio, Chiuduno, Palazzago, Castro, Vall'alta, Spinone Al Lago and Carvico.

For the higher-level travel overview: Bergamo.