Comerio between Lago di Varese and Campo dei Fiori

Comerio between the Lake Hills and Campo dei Fiori

Comerio is situated on a hill with panoramic views north of Lago di Varese, on the edge of the green slopes of Campo dei Fiori.

Network of Trails, Caves, and Panoramic Views

Around Comerio, the trails can be explored on foot or by mountain bike. The network comprises 18 trails, allowing visitors to explore the most interesting areas of the Parco Naturale del Campo dei Fiori. An important route through the landscape is Trail 12 from Comerio: it runs through the Valle della Tacca and then reaches the area of the Campo dei Fiori nature reserve. It also leads as far as the military road to Forte di Orino.

At an altitude of around 721 metres, a branch from Trail 12 from Comerio leads to the Grotta del Remeron in just a few minutes. At 930 metres, Trail 12 reaches the Grotta della Scondurava, a natural cave of karstic origin. Forte di Orino is also located near Comerio, a fortified military site belonging to the Cadorna Line, with views of the Pre-Alps, the Piedmontese and Central Alps, Verbano, the western Po Valley, and the Varese Lakes.

The wildlife is also part of the landscape: In one of the few ponds on the southern slope of Campo dei Fiori, numerous common frogs (Rana temporaria) and common toads (Bufo bufo) lay their eggs in spring.

Villas, Churches, and Local History

Villa Tatti Tallachini was built in the first half of the 18th century at the request of the jurist Benedetto Tatti. At the end of the 19th century, the estate passed to the Tallachini family. They added a large spinning mill building to the 18th-century structure on the eastern side and used the small pavilion as a special venue for chamber concerts. The villa's garden is arranged with flights of steps featuring water displays, statues, niches, and water lilies.

The Chiesa di San Celso in Comerio dates back to the 11th century and is the surviving part of an abbey of the same name, which the monks abandoned around the middle of the 16th century. The church retains its Romanesque form, with a rectangular single-nave interior, a semicircular apse, and exposed masonry. Inside is a 16th-century fresco depicting the Crucifixion with Saints Celso and Benedetto.

La Stele is a bronze and steel monument created in Comerio after the redesign of Largo Ossola in 2001.

Tropical Plants and Local Traditions

The Serra tropicale del Comune di Comerio was built in the first half of the 19th century by the Tatti Tallachini family as a propagation greenhouse and served as an addition to the collection greenhouse of the villa of the same name. It houses almost 500 rare, unusual, and tropical plant species that are not commonly found in Italy.

Every year in June, Utopia Tropicale organizes ComeRaro, an exhibition and plant market for rare, unusual, and tropical plants in Comerio. ComeRaro includes workshops, talks, and guided tours of the Serra tropicale del Comune di Comerio. Another historical connection to the local economy dates back to the 19th century: At that time, almost all families in Comerio bred silkworms and then supplied them to local businesses in the surrounding area.

More local pages: Lonate Pozzolo, Marnate, Casale Litta, Musignano, Montecatini, Cantello, Laveno-Mombello, Sesto Calende.

To the main travel overview: Varese.