ALBERGO DEL SOLE - VALTRAVAGLIA

ALBERGO DEL SOLE - VALTRAVAGLIA

12km - 1 hour - easy

A beautiful, interesting and varied itinerary, which covers the municipality of Porto Valtravaglia and Castelveccana; a pleasant immersion in the history and culture of these villages, with the presence of the Maggiore Lake on one side and the mountains on the other.

The departure is from the Albergo del Sole of PortoValtravaglia, just opposite the Maggiore Lake: a beautiful ride in the shade of the trees, gives us the opportunity to appreciate the tranquility of the lake and the care of the environment given by the inhabitants of these areas.
Keeping the lake on our right we head towards Laveno  Mombello, (which we won’t reach) along the SP69, the main road which might be busy during the summer time weekends. An easy and steady up hill takes us out of the village and takes us towards the hills.

A few turns and we can head towards the hill of St. Peter, where already in its square we can breathe old times air: the church, of Romanic origin like most of the minor small churches we will encounter along our itinerary, and the sunny square invite us to a short break. Passing under the arch on the left side of the church, we enter a tunnel of small streets, which lead us towards Caldé , where above it, the war memorial, built on the top of the characteristic rock, seems constantly watching over.
A short ride on the SP69, allow us to enter Caldé and reach its port with a very nice little square.
A glance to the lake and one to the rock, where you can see the Church of St. Veronica, symbol of fate visible already from the waters of the lake (we suggest a visit, leaving the bicycles and going up by walk through an easy path).

Through narrow passages we visit Caldé, and riding again for about a kilometer on the SP69 towards Luino, we enter the road, which lead us to Passo St. Antony, which we leave soon after in order to visit Sarigo, a very special village, with the houses leaning against each other and the numerous arches and porches. Entering Sarigo it deserves a visit the Church of St Giorgio, true jewel of Romanic-Lombard architecture of the 12th century. By pedaling among these small villages where the time seems to have stopped, tiredness is not felt. A constant change of landscapes and slopes takes us to the Church of St Genesio, of renaissance origins, located half way between Sarigo and Ligurno, village which takes us back to PortoValtravaglia and where we can admire the Church of St Rocco and the rests of a medieval tower, around which was built the town.

The last village visited is Musadino, where we find the Church dedicated to St Peter, a medieval construction with a renaissance façade, and a succession of ancient Lombard houses, with the characteristic porches and arches.
Back to the main road we enter Via Nave, which with an easy down hill takes us back to the centre of Porto Valtravaglia, and Albergo del Sole.