Piona Abbey, Lake Como: the monks' cloister at the tip of Olgiasca
A Romanesque priory on the Olgiasca peninsula near Colico, home to Cistercian monks since 1938. The best way in is slowly, from the water.
Piona Abbey is the one place on Lake Como where I catch myself lowering my voice before we've even tied up. It sits at the tip of the Olgiasca peninsula near Colico, up in the northern lake: a Romanesque church, a 13th-century cloister and a small community of Cistercian monks who have prayed and worked here for close to ninety years.
From the water: reaching Piona Abbey by boat
Heading north, the lake opens up and the mountains get taller. On the eastern shore, almost where Lake Como begins, a wooded hill pushes out into the water and closes off a quiet bay. That's the Olgiasca peninsula. At its tip, through the trees, the bell tower appears. The monks compare it to a lighthouse, and from a boat that's exactly how you look for it.
Straight across the water are Gravedona, Dongo and Domaso. Behind you rise Monte Legnone and the Legnoncino. Up here the lake feels wilder than in the middle: fewer villas, more forest, less noise. You hear the engine, then the water on the hull, then almost nothing.
You can reach the abbey by car, on foot from Colico or on the public ferry. On our Venetian water taxi we agree the stop before we set off, depending on the plan for the day and on the lake.
Piona Abbey history in a few lines
It starts with a stone. The cippus of Agrippinus, Bishop of Como in the early 7th century, records that he built an oratory here dedicated to the martyr Saint Justina. Behind the church stand the remains of a small apse; some historians link it to that first building, others don't.
Around the turn of the 12th century Piona joined the Cluniac reform. In 1138 Bishop Ardizzone of Como consecrated the church to the Virgin, and within a few years documents were also calling it the church of Saint Nicholas, patron of sailors, which makes sense on a lake. The cloister was built between 1252 and 1257 on the initiative of Prior Bonaccorso de Canova of Gravedona.
Then came the long decline: few monks, debts, more than three centuries in commendam, Napoleonic suppression in 1798 and private owners. The revival came in 1937, when the Rocca family gave the estate to the Cistercians of Casamari in memory of Cesare Rocca and his wife Lidia, killed in East Africa. On 13 February 1938 the white monks took possession of the priory. They have been here ever since.
What to see at Piona Abbey
- 01The cloister
The heart of the place. Built on sloping ground, its four galleries differ in length, width and height, and you feel that asymmetry as you walk. The round arches are traced by a thin band of red brick.
- 02The capitals
No two alike: leaves, fruit, animals, monsters, small human heads. In the north gallery, along the church, look for the little serpents with women's faces. There are 11, 10, 12 and 8 columns per side, and the monks read meaning into those numbers too.
- 03The church of San Nicola
A single nave, sober decoration, a semicircular apse with narrow windows and a ring of small arches. The bronze door by Giuseppe Abram, from 1982, tells the life of Saint Benedict in six panels.
- 04The monks' liqueurs
The Cistercians live from the work of their own hands. Among their products are herbal liqueurs made to recipes handed down from the first monks, such as the Gocce Imperiali at a fierce 90 per cent, plus a few herbal teas, sold at the monastery shop.
When to visit Piona Abbey
The abbey is open to visitors all year. My favourite times are spring and September into October, when the northern lake is clear and a soft light falls into the cloister. In high summer, come early: with more people around, the silence, which is half the visit here, gets harder to find.
This is a working monastery. The church, cloister and chapter house keep their own visiting hours, with a break in the middle of the day, and there are the monks' services. Check the current times on the abbey's official website before you go.
Places near Piona Abbey
Piona pairs well with Colico, a few minutes away, with its lakefront and the Forte Montecchio Nord. On the opposite shore Gravedona and Dongo round off the northern lake. If you want the central lake too, Varenna is on the way back south. Or do it all in one go on our full-day boat tour.
Full Day Dolce Far Niente
The northern lake deserves time. On our full-day boat tour we go all the way up to Piona and still have time for the cloister. Get in touch and we'll plan the day together.