In the next part of our series of posts about car rental holidays in Italy’s Lake Como region, we look at the route from Dongo to Menaggio.
Although Dongo has a large industrial area, it also has a more picturesque tourist area by the lakeside. One of the main attractions in Dongo is the Palazzo Manzi, a neoclassical style villa which is now used as the town hall. It also houses the tourist information office and the Museum of the Resistance, which contains exhibits relating to the capture of Mussolini, which took place in Dongo in 1945.
You can also see some of the original interior of the Palazzo Manzi, including: the library, which contains more than 4,000 books; the Sala D’Oro (Gold Room), which was originally used as a dance hall and which contains frescoes by Giuseppe Lavelli; and the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, where you can also see a large Lavelli fresco.
Other attractions in Dongo include the Church of Santa Maria in Martinico, which dates back to the 11th cemtury but which was restored in the 19th century, and the Romanesque Church of San Stefano.
Once you’ve explored Dongo, jump in your hire car and head south on the SS340dir to get to Menaggio, which is about 15 minutes’ drive from Dongo. Menaggio is one of the most popular places in the Lake Como area and it’s worth stopping off there to take a stroll along its lakeside promenade and visit the “Old Town” district, where you can see some attractive 19th century and medieval buildings. You can stop for a coffee in one of the cafes in the Piazza Garibaldi or, if the weather is good, relax at the Lido Giardino.
You can either take a ferry from Menaggio to one of the other destinations on Lake Como, such as Varenna or Bellagio, or you can continue driving south along SS340dir in your hire car.
In the next post in this series on Italy car hire holidays, we’ll take a look at the route from Menaggio to Tremezzo.
Tags: car hire, car rental, Dongo, driving holidays, Italy, Lake Como, Menaggio
