At the pass of San Lucio, on the Swiss border, there is a little church where Carlo Borromeo, visiting in 1582, stopped to pray for almost a whole day. Federico Borromeo, who came in 1606, had it plastered over: under that plaster the frescoes stayed covered for centuries, and that is why they survived. San Lucio is the patron of cheesemakers.
Cavargna is the highest municipality in the Como area, and its men were magnàn, the tinkers who went about mending pots: hammer and anvil ended up in the coat of arms, which the village got only in 2024. In the income tables it has come out as the poorest municipality in Italy, but that is an effect of the border: nearly everyone works in Switzerland and pays taxes there. Since 1982 there has been the Museum of the Valley, with a section on smuggling.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Cavargna
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Cavargna, but an easy day trip away.