Valsolda

San Mamete

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Sito ufficiale del Comune
di Valsolda

Riserva naturale integrale

Premio Antonio Fogazzaro

Casa Pagani

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Valsolda

Consisting of ten small outlying administrative divisions, the municipality of Valsolda stretches along the valley of the same name in a green country near the Swiss border, bordering the shore of Lugano Lake. Cressogno, San Mamete, Albogasio and Oria overlook the northern shore of the lake, in the stretch of the ‘Regina Road’ going from the Swiss border to Menaggio, while Santa Margherita lies on the opposite shore; the other villages (Loggio, Drano, Puria, Dasio and Castello) are scattered on the mountain side.

The area was inhabited since ancient ages and the old villages preserve a medioeval imprint in the narrow streets and in the beautiful churches. Valsolda enjoyed a long period  of independence under the protectorate of Milan Archbishop, which came to an end only in 1782, when it was incorporated in the Austrian Empire.
Today the region houses the first Integral Natural Reserve of Lombardia, established in 2007 inside Valsolda’s Forest and measuring 228 hectares (some 563 acres).

Many are the artistic and natural attractions that draw here a tourism loving the quiet and the possibility of walking tours around the lake and on the mountains, but also to follow the cultural routes visiting the places described by the writer Antonio Fogazzaro (1842-1911), admiring the paintings of Paolo Pagani (1655-1716) and the buildings of Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527-1596), as well as the splendid 19th century villas on the lake’s shore.