Fiumelatte, Lake Como: one of Italy's shortest rivers, seen by boat from Varenna
Fiumelatte springs out of the mountain and reaches Lake Como after about 250 metres. From the boat you see a white streak pouring into the lake, a short way from Varenna.
Fiumelatte on Lake Como is one of the shortest rivers in Italy: roughly 250 metres from its spring to the lake. It only flows for part of the year, from late March to October, and when it is running you hear it before you see it. When we pass it in our Venetian water taxi, someone on board nearly always asks: wait, that's the whole river?
Seeing Fiumelatte on Lake Como from the water
Head south from Varenna along the eastern shore of Lake Como. Once you pass the village and the long garden of Villa Monastero, which runs almost all the way here, a handful of houses appears, pressed up against the mountain. That is the hamlet of Fiumelatte, and right in the middle is the river: a white rush tumbling over the rocks and straight into the lake.
The name means "river of milk", and it comes from exactly that colour. When it is in full flow the water is so frothy it looks like milk. I slow the boat right down, cut the engine almost to nothing, and the roar carries across the water. Nobody needs an explanation. People just stand up and take pictures.
How to see Fiumelatte by boat
By water taxi we come in from the lake, which is the best place to grasp how short its journey is: you see it leave the mountain and hit the water in a single glance. If you want to climb up to the spring, we drop you in Varenna and you continue on foot. Mention it when you book and we will plan the tour so you have the time.
Fiumelatte history: from Leonardo to the scientists
People have been puzzling over Fiumelatte for centuries. Leonardo da Vinci calls it "Fiumelaccio" on folio 214 of the Codex Atlanticus, writing that it drops "sheer onto the lake, with inestimable clamour and noise". After him came Steno, Spallanzani and Stoppani, among others.
Why Fiumelatte only flows from March to October
The mystery is always the same: why does it appear in late March and vanish in October? Scholars believe it is the overflow of a large basin hidden inside the northern Grigna, in the glacial cirque of Moncodeno. It is a karst spring: when the water inside rises past a certain level, it comes out here.
Things to see at Fiumelatte
- 01The waterfall into the lake
The final stretch, where the white water enters the lake between the houses. This is the view you get from the boat.
- 02The spring
Above the hamlet, in the woods, about ten minutes up a path. There is a small picnic area right by the river.
- 03The Greenway dei Patriarchi
The walk from Varenna to Fiumelatte, around twenty minutes from the centre along the hillside above the lake.
- 04The hamlet
A few houses, narrow lanes and the sound of water that never stops, as long as the river is running.
When to visit Fiumelatte
The right time is when it flows: usually from late March to October. In winter the bed is dry and from a distance there is almost nothing to see. The milky white that gives it its name shows best when it is in spate, so if you want to see it at its strongest, ask us how it looks that week. We go past it constantly.
How to walk to the Fiumelatte spring
From Piazza San Giorgio in Varenna, head south and walk up Via Roma to the cemetery. Take the steps on the left, and at the top the real path begins, running along the hillside parallel to the lake all the way to Fiumelatte. From the hamlet it is about ten minutes through the woods to the spring, where there is a small picnic area right by the river. Wear proper shoes: the path is not hard, but it is a real path, not a lakeside promenade.
Nearby places
Fiumelatte makes a good start or a good finish to a day in Varenna: the garden of Villa Monastero runs along the lake for almost two kilometres, then there is Villa Cipressi and, higher up, Castello di Vezio. Straight across the lake is Bellagio. Many of our guests put them all together on the Classic Lake Tour.
