The best walks and hikes around Nebbiuno

easy hike to Monte Croce - Saas dalPizz l

The church of San Sebastiano is a religious building located in Lesa (NO), it is located along the road that leads from Lesa to Massino Visconti on a panoramic hill overlooking a crossing point of the Erno river and the town of Solcio. Mentioned for the first time in the Liber Notitiae Sanctorum Mediolani by Goffredo da Bussero from the 13th century, it is an example of a sacred building from the Romanesque period that has maintained its original structure in its entirety. The shape of the wall structure dates the construction period to 1100-1125. The small building, oriented from west to east, has a single nave, a gabled façade and a semicircular apse, the bell tower is particularly interesting, partially incorporated into the masonry of the perimeter wall of the building and has three orders of openings surmounted by hanging arches, a slit on the first level, a single-lancet window on the second and a double-lancet window on the third. Hanging arches also decorate the apse which has three pilasters with small windows, a cruciform opening in the apse corresponds to an internal fresco symbolically depicting redemption through the risen Christ. Other frescoes probably executed between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are found inside the apse. They depict Christ Pantocrator enclosed in an almond, surrounded by the four evangelists with their respective symbols and by some saints, an iconography already present in the church of San Donato in Sesto Calende. It is certain that the oratory in the past was one of the stops of the "rogations", ancient prayer processions for the conservation and prosperity of the sowings. Due to the remains of Roman tombs found in the meadow in front, it is assumed that the Oratory was used between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries as a burial place for victims of endemic diseases and as a lazaretto. In 2004, conservative restoration works were carried out, which mainly concerned the walls, the bell tower and the roof. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_San_Sebastiano_(Lesa)

A hiking trail leads through the countryside, either up or down from Massino Visconti to Lesa, or vice versa. Plenty of greenery, a good path, and frequent views of the lake.

The Visconti Castle of San Vito di Massino Visconti is a fortified complex built in the 11th century at the entrance to the municipality of the same name, situated on a terraced hillside. Construction of the castle began around the 11th century; its original function was as a monastery for the monks of St. Gall. Within just over a century, the castle became the noble country estate of the Visconti family, who settled there as feudal lords in 1139. The castle of Massino Visconti was partially destroyed in 1358 by Galeazzo II Visconti, who was at war with the Margrave of Monferrato. In 1721, Filippo Maria Visconti, later Archbishop of Milan, was born there. In 1863, it was purchased by the Visconti of Aragon from Pietro Pallestrini of Villa Biscossi. A scholar and author of an industrial journal on Verbano, as well as mayor of Massino, he lived there and restored it before passing it on to another branch of the Visconti family, the Visconti di San Vito, who own the castle until 2022. Today, the castle presents itself as a well-preserved manor house. The current building is the result of a series of significant renovations in the 16th century: today, it is a three-story structure with a single tower (the central keep), wedged between buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Near the courtyard, a small balcony can be seen from which the Visconti brothers spoke to the villagers. The other three towers were demolished to make room for the laundry, kitchen, stables, cowshed, and garden. In the past, there was also a moat, a drawbridge, prisons, and torture traps, such as the one still visible today at the edge of a deep well, in which steel blades were placed. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Massino_Visconti

Piazza Vittorio Veneto - one of the central places in Massino Visconti

Washing house in the Via Vecchio Washhouse

The Visconti Castle of San Vito di Massino Visconti is a fortified complex built in the 11th century, at the entrance to the municipality of the same name, on a terraced slope. The construction of the castle began around the 11th century with the original function of a convent of the monks of San Gallo. In the space of just over a century, the castle will become the noble country residence of the Visconti family, who settled in 1139 as feudal lords. The castle of Massino Visconti was partially demolished in 1358 by Galeazzo II Visconti, at war with the Marquis of Monferrato. In 1721, Filippo Maria Visconti, the future archbishop of Milan, was born there In 1863 it was purchased by the Visconti of Aragon from Pietro Pallestrini, of Villa Biscossi. scholar and author of an industrial review of Verbano as well as mayor of Massino, who lived there and restored it and then passed it on to another branch of the Visconti, the Visconti of San Vito, owners of the castle until 2022. The castle today appears as a manor in good condition. The current construction is the result of a series of considerable reconstructions carried out in the 16th century: today it appears as a building that develops on three levels, with a single tower (the central keep) squeezed between buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries in which you can see a small balcony near the courtyard from which the Visconti spoke to the inhabitants of the village. The other three towers were demolished to make room for the laundry, the kitchen, the stables, the stables and the garden. In the past, there was also a moat, a drawbridge, prisons and torture traps, such as the one on the edge of a deep well in which steel blades had been placed, still visible today. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Massino_Visconti

Not an easy tour, some paths are a little adventure.