Novate Mezzola: Lake, Val Codera and Granite Culture

Novate Mezzola between Lake, Granite and Val Codera

Around Novate Mezzola, you can discover three distinct aspects: the landscape of Lake Mezzola, surrounded by forests, rock faces and mountains; the paths into Val Codera; and the town's granite heritage. This provides a clear distinction for planning your trip: you can focus on water, mountain trails, cycling or culture and assess the location of your accommodation accordingly.

Getting There and Hiking

Novate Mezzola can be reached by car via the SS 36, as well as by train and STPS buses. The hike into Val Codera can begin at Novate Mezzola railway station or in Mezzoalpiano, where parking spaces are available. For the approach, you can therefore choose between a rail connection and a car park.

Experience Val Codera on Foot

Val Codera has no road access; footpaths connect old rural settlements and alpine pastures there. San Giorgio di Cola is a mountain hamlet on a meadow behind a granite spur at the entrance to Val Codera. The hamlet can only be reached via a steep mule track from Novate Mezzola or via the Tracciolino trail. The nature of the route is therefore an essential part of planning: San Giorgio di Cola cannot be reached by road but must be accessed on foot.

Lake Mezzola and Excursions on the Water

Lake Mezzola stretches between Verceia and Novate Mezzola. Forests, rock faces and mountains surround the lake and give the landscape its distinctive natural character. Kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, rowing and boat trips are possible on Lake Mezzola. In the area around Novate Mezzola, the Romanesque Tempietto di San Fedelino is also located at the northern end of the lake and can be reached by boat from Novate Mezzola.

Granite and Regional History

Local culture can be seen particularly clearly in granite processing. The Museo Picapreda is a small museum on Piazza Europa in Novate Mezzola and preserves the history of the town's granite processing. For generations, local stonemasons quarried and processed Sanfedelino granite in Novate Mezzola. The Chiesa della Santissima Trinità di Novate Mezzola is also connected with this artistic and architectural heritage: between 1685 and 1715, artists and craftsmen worked there, financed by Bishop Francesco Giani.

In San Giorgio di Cola, the church in the mountain hamlet displays Romanesque features in its semicircular apse with exterior pilasters. The local section of the Museo della Val Codera is housed in a former stable and hayloft. In its section on the extraction and processing of granite, the museum preserves stonemasons' tools. The Museo della Val Codera also displays tools used by farmers, blacksmiths and shoemakers, kitchen furnishings and utensils, as well as hand-embroidered clothing and household linen. The Museo Storico Etnografico Naturalistico della Val Codera was founded in 1982, recognised by Regione Lombardia and organised as an ecomuseum with sections in Codera and San Giorgio.

Cycle Path and Nature Observation

For a longer cycling tour, a cycle path follows the river through Mese, Gordona and Samolaco and reaches the lake at Novate Mezzola after a total of 17 kilometres. Along the cycle route beside the shore, you can observe brown hares and kingfishers near the dam.

Discover More Places

Regoledo, Maroggia, Premadio, Bagni, Mazzo Di Valtellina, Albosaggia, Samolaco, Albaredo Per San Marco

To the higher-level travel overview: Sondrio.