Mandello del Lario, Lake Como: the Moto Guzzi town seen from the water
On the eastern shore of the Lecco branch, right under the Grigna peaks, sits the town where Moto Guzzi bikes are built. Here is how it looks when you arrive by boat.
Mandello del Lario, Lake Como's motorcycle town, is where you can hear engines even on a flat calm day. It sits on the eastern shore of the Lecco branch, squeezed between the water and the rock faces of the Grigna, and for more than a century it has been home to Moto Guzzi. I see it often from my Venetian water taxi, so let me show you what it looks like from down here.
Mandello del Lario from the lake
Coming up from Lecco, just past Abbadia Lariana, the shoreline does something odd. It bulges out into a low, rounded point. That is the fan of debris the Meria stream has carried down over the centuries, and the town grew on top of it. From the boat you spot Mandello by that shape, and by the bell tower of San Lorenzo standing close to the water.
Behind it, everything gets bigger. The Grigna range rises steeply, pale rock and deep gullies, and the northern Grigna reaches 2,409 metres without ever leaving the town's boundaries. In the morning the sun comes up behind the mountain, so the town stays in shade longer than the shore opposite.
How to get to Mandello by boat
Mandello is a stop on the Navigazione Laghi ferry line between Lecco and Bellagio, so you can come on the public boats too: timetables change with the season, so check navigazionelaghi.it before you set off. By water taxi it is simpler. We pull in along the lakefront, you step off close to the old town, and we leave whenever you are ready, no timetable to chase.
A little history
Mandello is a town of towers. The Romanesque bell tower of San Lorenzo, dating to around the 12th century, was one of the defensive towers of the medieval castrum, and next to the church you can still make out the buildings of a Benedictine abbey that already existed in 833. Higher up, in the hamlet of Maggiana, stands the tower linked to Frederick Barbarossa: tradition says the emperor stayed there in 1158.
Then, in 1921, Moto Guzzi arrived. The eagle-badged bikes have been built here ever since, and you will see the brand all over town.
Things to do in Mandello del Lario, Lake Como
- 01Moto Guzzi Museum
The new museum, designed by architect Greg Lynn, brings together more than 160 restored motorcycles, from the G.P., the prototype where it all began, to today's models. From the galleries you can look straight onto the factory's assembly lines. Book on the official Moto Guzzi website, as opening times and tickets vary by season.
- 02San Lorenzo church and the old town
The main church stands on a square a few steps from the lake, at the entrance to the old village. The building dates from the 1600s, with Baroque decoration and a carved, gilded Serassi organ inside; facing it is the small octagonal Cappella dei Morti.
- 03Maggiana Tower
The so-called Barbarossa Tower rises over the hamlet of Maggiana, above the town. Inside is an ethnographic museum with objects and photographs of everyday life in these valleys from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. It opens seasonally, so check the museum's notices before heading up.
- 04Sentiero del Viandante
The old footpath along the eastern shore runs through Mandello. From here you can walk south towards Lecco or north towards Lierna.
- 05Sailing on the Lecco branch
Since 1965 Mandello has had a branch of the Lega Navale Italiana, which runs sailing courses in summer.
Best time to visit Mandello
My favourite stretch is May to September, when the lake is lively and you can stay out on the boat until evening. September has an edge: lower light, fewer people, the town slipping back into its own rhythm. Mandello does not shut down in winter, though. It is a real town, lived in all year, and on clear days the snowy Grigna makes a fine backdrop to the lake. For the museum and the tower, always check the official calendars.
Places near Mandello del Lario
Heading south, a few minutes by boat, you reach Abbadia Lariana and then Lecco, where the lake narrows and becomes the river Adda again. Cross towards the central lake and you are in Bellagio; head up the eastern shore and you get to Varenna. Put them together and you have a great day on the Lecco branch, and the easiest way to do it is our full-day boat tour.
Full Day Dolce Far Niente
Mandello can be one of the stops on our full day on the lake: there is time to go ashore, take the museum at your own pace, then carry on to Bellagio or Varenna. If that sounds like your kind of day, come aboard.