Laglio

Welcome to Laglio, a village that exemplifies the understated elegance of Lake Como’s western shore. As a scholar of regional history, I find Laglio particularly fascinating because it occupies the narrowest point of the entire…

Venturing away from the immediate shoreline, we ascend into the ancient core of the village. One of the first things you will notice is the 'Holy Staircase,' a steep path of stone steps that leads upward toward the old houses. …

As we continue our ascent, we join a section of the famous Via Verde, or Green Way. This seven-kilometer trail meanders above the lake, following ancient mule tracks that predate the Roman era. …

Returning to the water’s edge, we encounter the face of Laglio that the world recognizes: the celebrity estates. Directly before us lies Villa Oleandra, a 19th-century masterpiece that became a global icon after it was purchased…

The spiritual heart of the village is the Church of San Giorgio, an imposing structure that dates back to the 17th century. The church features a classic Baroque facade and a bell tower that doubles as a clock tower, keeping time…

Perhaps the most unexpected and scholarly curiosity in Laglio is the Pyramid of Joseph Frank. Located next to the town cemetery, this twenty-meter-tall funerary monument seems entirely out of place in a northern Italian lakeside…

As we head back toward the center, we pass the Town Hall, or Municipio, and the World War I memorial. The Town Hall building itself has a history of service; in previous generations, it functioned as the local schoolhouse. …

As our journey through Laglio concludes, I hope you feel a sense of the quiet, layered complexity of this village. We have moved from the ancient, labor-intensive stone paths of the upper hamlet to the polished, international…