Secret Lombardy: 10 Places That Aren't Milan or Lake Como

Lombardy sits at Italy's economic centre yet drifts to its touristic periphery in the popular imagination: Milan is for work, Como is for the weekend. The rest of the region — prehistoric Val Camonica, the Franciacorta, the Oltrepò Pavese, Lombard cities such as Bergamo Alta or Mantua — is first-rate and thinly explored.

1. Bergamo Alta

Bergamo Alta is among the finest walled cities in Italy. Its Venetian walls (a UNESCO site), Piazza Vecchia with the Palazzo della Ragione, and the Cappella Colleoni. Ride the funicular up, then wander on foot. Combine it with Bergamo Bassa and the Accademia Carrara.

2. Lake Iseo and Monte Isola

Less famous than Como, easier to reach in a day. Monte Isola, crowned by a sanctuary, is the largest lake island in Italy (about 1,600 residents). The neighbouring Torbiere del Sebino form a wetland reserve. Sarnico and Iseo are the small lakeside towns.

3. Franciacorta

Franciacorta, between Brescia and Lake Iseo, is Italy's método classico region (the only "Franciacorta DOCG" anywhere). Wineries such as Berlucchi, Ca' del Bosco and Bellavista open to the public. Pair it with the Monastery of San Pietro in Lamosa and the Wine Museum.

4. Mantua and the Gonzaga

Mantua (a UNESCO site along with Sabbioneta) was the court of the Gonzaga: Palazzo Ducale (with Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi), Palazzo Te (by Giulio Romano), the Teatro Bibiena. A Renaissance city preserved intact, cupped by three river-fed lakes. An absolute jewel.

5. The Certosa di Pavia

Thirty kilometres from Milan, the Certosa di Pavia is a masterwork of the Lombard Renaissance: a façade of polychrome marbles, a great cloister with twenty-four Carthusian cells, and the Visconti-Sforza tombs. Entry by donation, no queues.

6. Val Camonica and the rock carvings

The Val Camonica (a UNESCO site) safeguards more than 300,000 rock carvings from the Neolithic through the Iron Age. The Naquane National Park at Capo di Ponte is the easiest to visit. Nearby: the Concarena massif, the Passo del Tonale, and mountain villages such as Borno.

7. The Oltrepò Pavese and the wine hills

The Oltrepò Pavese, Lombardy's southern spur toward Emilia, is wine country (Pinot Nero, Bonarda, Riesling). Villages such as Zavattarello (with its Dal Verme castle), Fortunago and Varzi (of IGP salami fame). A forgotten weekend of food and wine.

8. Lake Idro and its three lakeside villages

Lake Idro, between Brescia and Trentino, is one of the least-known Lombard lakes. Swimmable, surrounded by the Val Sabbia. Anfo with its Venetian fortress, Idro, and Bagolino (famous for its historic Carnival and the Bagoss cheese).

9. Cremona and the violin

Cremona is the world capital of violin-making (Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri). The Museo del Violino displays original instruments played every day by young luthiers. Piazza del Comune features the Torrazzo, the tallest brick bell tower in Italy. A Lombard city routinely skipped by tours.

10. The artistic Po plain: Sabbioneta, San Benedetto Po

Sabbioneta, the "little Athens" founded by Vespasiano Gonzaga (1554), is an ideal Renaissance city laid out as a star. San Benedetto Po holds the Benedictine monastery of Polirone (founded by the Canossa). Two jewels of the Mantuan plain.

When to come?

April–June and September–October. Summer: the lakes shine, the cities swelter. Winter: skiing at Bormio and Livigno, hushed lakeshores.

How to plan it

A weekend: Bergamo Alta + Iseo + Franciacorta, or Mantua + Sabbioneta + Cremona. A week: Milan + Certosa + Bergamo + Mantua + Val Camonica.

See also

Secret Milan is part of this world too. And the Milan neighbourhoods guide goes deeper into the city beyond the Duomo.