Orrido di Nesso, Lake Como: the gorge, the waterfall and the Ponte della Civera
Two mountain streams, a narrow gorge and a medieval bridge right at the waterline. Our captain on what Nesso looks like when you arrive by boat.
The Orrido di Nesso is one of those places on Lake Como that make more sense from the water than from the road. On the eastern shore of the Como branch, between Torno and Lezzeno, the mountain splits open and a torrent drops into the lake beneath a stone arch: the Ponte della Civera. Whenever I pass it in my wooden Venetian water taxi, I slow down.
From the lake: the Orrido di Nesso by boat
Coming up from Como, the village appears round a bend in the shoreline. Pale houses stacked one above the other, the bell tower, and then that cut in the rock. Look low, right at the waterline. The bridge is there, small, its arch framing the dark of the gorge.
I bring the boat in slowly, engine just ticking over, as close as it is safe to go. That is usually when everyone on board goes quiet. The sound of the falls bounces off the rock walls and across the water, and even in high summer the air in front of the gorge feels cooler.
How to get to the Orrido di Nesso by boat
The lake is still the best way in. On a Lake Como boat tour you see the gorge from below, where nobody on foot can stand: we stop here on the Large Tour and on our longer trips. If you want to go ashore, the village has its own landing stage, also served by the Navigazione Laghi ferries.
On foot, the Ponte della Civera is reached from Via Coatesa down a long flight of steps. Wear proper shoes and save some breath for the climb back up. The town council lists access as free; check ferry times and notices on the official websites before you set off.
History of Nesso and its gorge
According to the town council, the name most likely comes from Ness, a Celtic water deity. The gorge is formed where two torrents, the Tuf and the Nosè, meet and plunge through the rock, dropping roughly 200 metres to the lake.
For centuries that force kept Nesso working: mills, paper mills, silk throwing mills, oil presses. Leonardo da Vinci noted it in the Codex Atlanticus: "Nesso, a place where a river falls with great force through a vast cleft in the mountain". In the 18th and 19th centuries many artists drew and painted the gorge, among them Federico and Carolina Lose in one of their aquatints, and Giambattista Bazzoni set his 1829 novel Falco della Rupe o la Guerra di Musso in this area.
What to see in Nesso
- 01Ponte della Civera
The medieval arched bridge on the shore, looking straight into the gorge and the waterfall. It is the most photographed spot in Nesso, and you can see why.
- 02Piazza Castello
The other spot the town council names for seeing the gorge. Here you look down on it from the village.
- 03Castello di San Lorenzo
Above the village stands the great wall of a fortress built by the people of Como in 1449 and destroyed by the Medeghino in the 16th century. The three crenellated turrets were added in the 1800s. It is private, so you see it from outside; from the lake it is easy to spot.
- 04Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo
Tradition says Pope Urban II consecrated it in 1095; rebuilding began in 1632. It was the mother church of the old parish district of Nesso.
- 05Nosée
If you have time: walk up towards Tronno to reach the stream, with a double-arched stone bridge, a large natural pool and, further on, a second pool known as the Pozzo dei Ladri.
Best time to visit the Orrido di Nesso
You can see the gorge all year round. In spring, or after a few days of rain, the falls are louder and you hear them clearly from the boat. On hot summer afternoons, that patch of shade is a relief.
Nesso faces west. In the afternoon the sun lights up the village while the gorge stays in shadow, and from the water that contrast is what stays with me most. In winter the lake is calm with very little boat traffic, a good time if you are after peace and quiet.
Places near Nesso on Lake Como
Heading south towards Como you pass Torno and Villa Pliniana. On the opposite shore is Villa Oleandra in Laglio. Heading north you go past Lezzeno and reach Bellagio at the tip of the promontory.
