COLMEGNA - VILLA PORTA BOZZOLO

COLMEGNA - VILLA PORTA BOZZOLO

22km - 1,5 hours - easy

An easy route with very few uphill stretches between the town of Colmegna and the Villa della Porta Bozzolo in the town of Casalzuigno.

The first stretch of route gives onto the beautiful view of the lakeside between Colmegna and Luino, unfortunately there is no bicycle lane, so we advise you to be careful.
The lakeside of Luino offers you the possibility to enjoy a break in one of this pleasant lake town’s famous coffee bars and we recommend, before continuing on towards Germignaga, to wonder around the old town for a while.

In Germignaga, immediately after the traffic light and close to a car wash, you will find the bicycle lane, which will lead you on a relaxing ride among meadows until you reach Grantola; you will always be keeping the Margorabbia stream on your left. At the end of the bicycle lane avoid the busy Via Provinciale (SS394) by carrying on along a side road until Cassano Valcuvia, where, next to a restaurant, you will have to swing onto the Provinciale and ride it for a couple of kilometers. We advise you to be careful due to the absence of a bicycle lane.

0n your right, next to a wide curve you leave the Via Provinciale and take the “Varese- Via Brinzio”. This is the beginning of a famous uphill road frequented by professional cyclist; after few hundred meters you enter the centre of Rancio Valcuvia, a small rural village, with narrow streets and houses in typical seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Lombard style.

Once you exit Rancio, continuing on a shady, secondary road, passing through the woods, a short uphill stretch will take you to the village of Cavona, where again you will find rural buildings and picturesque corners ,and where you can take a break if you wish to visit the unusual Museum of the American South-West.
Back to the Via Provinciale, a few hundred meters and you will find the traffic light near the centre of Cuveglio: on your left you can make out a large medieval tower, close to the church of St. Lorenzo (reachable passing under a portico).

At the traffic light turn right and, after a bit of a hilly stretch, pass through Vergobbio, with its houses facing the Valcuvia, until you cross the road which leads downhill to Arcumeggia (a painted village worthy of visit, if you are willing to face a long and tiring uphill return); then go down until the via Principale, follow it for around 300 meters, until you reach the parking and entrance to the Villa della Porta Bozzolo, a rich sixteenth-century residence surrounded by a beautiful park.

The first stretch of route allows you to enjoy the beautiful view of the lakeside between Colmegna and Luino, unfortunately it is without a bicycle lane for cyclists, so we advice to be cautious.
The lakeside of Luino offers you the possibility to enjoy a break in one of the famous coffee bars of this pleasant lake town and we suggest, before taking the route towards Germignaga, to have a short visit of the old town.

In Germignaga, immediately after the traffic light and nearby a car wash, you will find the bicycle lane, which allows you a relaxing ride among meadows until Grantola, with the constant presence of the Margorabbia torrent on your left. At the end of the bicycle lane we can avoid the Via Provinciale (SS394) by carrying on along a road close to the traffic until Cassano Valcuvia, where, nearby a restaurant, we are obliged to take the above mentioned Provinciale and ride it for a couple of kilometres. We advice to be cautious due to the absence of a bicycle lane.

0n your right, nearby a big turn you leave the Via Provinciale and take the “Varese- Via Brinzio”. Here it starts one of the most famous up hill road used by all those fond of cycling; after few hundred meters you enter the centre of Rancio Valcuvia, a small rural village, with narrow streets and houses in typical Lombardy style dating back to the 17th/18th century.

Left Rancio, still in a secondary and refreshing road, in the middle of the forest, a short uphill road takes you to the village of Cavona, where you can also find rural constructions and picturesque corners and where you can make a break in order to visit the unusual south west American museum.
Back to the Via Provinciale, we cycle for few hundred meters until we reach the traffic light near the centre of Cuveglio, where on our left, peeps out a large medieval tower, nearby the church of St. Lorenzo (reachable passing under a porch).

At the traffic light we turn right and, with a few “up and down” we go through Vergobbio, with its houses facing the Valcuvia, until we cross the road which goes down to Arcumeggia (a painted village worthy of visit, if you are willing to face a long and tiring uphill road); we then go down until the via Principale, which we follow for around 300 meters, until we reach the parking and the entrance of the Villa della Porta Bozzolo, a rich residence dating back to the 16th century and surrounded by a beautiful park.