Castello - the Sistine of Lombardy
The inaugural stop on our lakeside itinerary is the small fortified village of Castello, which can also be reached on foot from Albogasio.
A rare example of well-preserved ancient life, it features a labyrinth of alleyways, stairways, ravines, porticoes and leaning houses typical of defensive architecture, distributed in a semicircle on a high cliff that is situated on the banks of the Soldo stream. Its sheer position favours panoramic viewpoints of unspeakable beauty: from the churchyard of San Mamete one can admire the lake as far as S. Salvatore, the promontory of San Mamete, Oria and Albogasio, and from the portico of the Figett the upper valley is framed with its crown of mountains. Ascending to the small church of Addolorata opens up a 360-degree view of the entire valley.
Originally a fief of the Confalonieri family of Milan, the ancient fortification that gives its name to the village was unfortunately reduced to ruins at the end of the 1500s by order of Gian Giacomo Medici, known as "il Medeghino", and its reconstructed part was used as a private residence. The jewel preserved in Castello is the 16th-century Church of San Martino with its astonishing frescoes on the vault by Paolo Pagani, for which it has earned the nickname "the little Sistine of Lombardy": in stark contrast to the extreme simplicity of the exterior, they will leave you speechless! Another spot worth visiting is the Casa Pagani Museum, an interesting gallery exhibiting the artwork of Valsolda artists.
