In this article in our series about car hire holidays in Italy’s Lake Como area, we take a look at the route from Bellagio to Lecco.
Once you’ve finished exploring Bellagio, you can take a car ferry to another destination on Lake Como, such as Menaggio or Varenna. However, you can also continue to drive around the lake. If you choose to do this, the next stop on your hire car holiday will be the city of Lecco.
To get to Lecco, head south on the SS583. It will take you about 30 minutes to drive there from Bellagio in your hire car. The route will take you along the west shore of the east leg of Lake Como, via a number of towns and villages including Limonta, Oliveto Lario, Onno, Ceppo Palazzolo, Morrege, Pare and Valmedrera. You can then drive across the Ponte Azzone Visconti (bridge) at the far end of Lake Como and into Lecco.
Lecco isn’t the most attractive place on Lake Como, as it’s fairly industrialised, but there are a few attractions which are worth visiting. The 18th century Palazzo Belgioioso, for example, now houses Lecco’s Civic Museum, where you can see a range of exhibits tracing the history of the area. You can also visit the 15th century Viscontea Tower on the Piazza XX Settembre, which is now home to the city’s Risorgimento and Resistance Museum, or see the San Nicolo Basilica, which features frescoes dating from the 14th-century.
Another of Lecco’s main attractions is the Villa Manzoni on Via Amendola, which was once the summer residence of Italian novelist, poet and playwright, Alessandro Manzoni, whose most famous work was the novel ”I Promessi Sposi” (“The Betrothed”). Manzoni’s mother, Giulia Beccaria, inherited the property and surrounding land in 1805, and the family restored and extended the villa during the years that followed. The villa, which Manzoni sold in 1818, is now open as a museum.
Once you have explored Lecco, you can continue up along the east shore of Lake Como for the next part of your car hire holiday.
Tags: Bellagio, car hire, car rental, Italy, Italy holidays, Lake Como, lecco
