Lierna: Culture, Village History and Hiking Trails

Lierna appeals to travelers who want to get to know a place through historical sites, landscape and specific routes. The Chiesa dei SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro, Castello, unusual fossil finds and several hiking trails give a stay different points of focus. This allows you to weigh cultural interests, walks and more demanding tours against one another when planning your trip.

Historical Traces in Lierna and Castello

The façade of the Chiesa dei SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro bears frescoes depicting its two patron saints, Maurizio and Lazzaro. This gives the church a tangible connection to religious art and local history. The frescoes thus associate the façade with two specific saintly figures and connect the building with a clearly recognizable religious theme in the area.

Castello is a medieval village whose name refers to a castle on a local peninsula that was once an island. Its strategic location made the village a particularly difficult fortress to capture. The inner lanes of Castello and the façades of some houses have remained unchanged.

Beyond Provincial Road 72, near Castello, there is a fountain with iron-rich water. Fossils have also been found in Lierna, especially remains of Lariosaurus, a carnivorous sauropod. Remains of a Roman villa, attributed to Pliny the Younger, were also found here.

Lakeside and Distinctive Landscapes

The Art Nouveau Villa Besana faces the lake and is surrounded by an extensive park. In Grumo, a beach is considered particularly attractive and spacious. Both places complement the historical themes with different landscape impressions by the water. Villa Besana and Grumo beach offer two different focal points on the lake: here, a villa with a park facing the water; there, an expansive stretch of shore.

Hiking Trails with Different Levels of Difficulty

The Sentiero del Viandante is a 45-kilometer long long-distance hiking trail divided into four stages. Lierna is the second stage of this trail, which is certified by the Touring Club Italiano. The division into four stages also gives the 45-kilometer trail a clear timeframe for planning longer days of hiking.

The Sentiero N° 71 Genico-Mezzedo-Alpe di Lierna-Bocchetta di Calivazzo is a long, panoramic hiking trail. Along one section, it overlaps with the high-altitude variant of the Sentiero del Viandante. For the N° 71, this partial overlap with the high-altitude variant additionally connects the trail in sections with this long-distance hiking route.

The Sentiero N° 74 Giussana-Nero-Coria-Ortanella runs partly through forests and partly through panoramic landscapes. The Sentiero N° 73 Sornico-Predane’-Garze’-Bocchetta Di Palagia, by contrast, is a direct, steep and strenuous ascent to the trails toward Grigna Settentrionale. The incline of the N° 73 is another specific factor to consider when planning the route and choosing sections.

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