The charm of our quiet, unspoiled mountain villages

Each village in the Comano Valley has its own history, traditions and charm that you won’t find in the tourist guides. The best way to discover them is through the people who live here, where life still moves at a slower pace.  

Against a backdrop of wonderful Alpine scenery, with man and nature in perfect harmony. What are you waiting for? Come and see us! Discover these hidden gems!

The mystery of Rango

Among Rango’s maze of porticoes and passageways, one of Italy’s most beautiful villages, there is one which takes its name from a dark tale. The “Portech del Diaol”, the devil’s portico. The oldest residents of Rango still recall with dread the story of this house where Veronica lived, a young girl endowed with supernatural powers.

Supernatural Rango

Chairs and furniture would move on her command, ropes would rise up in the air and tie themselves in knots. Diabolical powers given to her by her father.

Everyone was frightened and afraid of them. As a result, they forced her father to emigrate to America, whilst Veronica and her mother and brothers left for Vienna, where they returned to normal life.

In Favrio, the ancient crafts are etched into the houses

Once upon a time, not long ago, every village had its own shoemaker, a skill which served the whole community. The elderly of our villages will tell you about how new shoes used to be a luxury and old pairs were kept for a long time, repeatedly being resoled, restitched and patched up. Times have changed and many old crafts have been consigned to memory. In Favrio, a village of just 70 souls which hardly gets any sunlight in winter, a pair of cobbler’s scissors is carved into the stone lintels of Casa Cherotti, indicating that this house was once home to Mastro Bernardino, the village’s shoemaker.

 Architecture which tells a story San Lorenzo in Banale and its strange frescoes 

 In rural churches, frescoes were used to explain Catholic doctrine to worshippers who didn’t know how to read or write. Although these explanations were not always correct! Even the famous Baschenis family of painters, who painted many frescoes in the churches and chapels in our region, made some errors.

There’s something not quite right in this village

In the church of San Rocco and San Sebastiano in San Lorenzo in Banale, the fresco of the Last Supper depicts thirteen disciples. Some say the ‘intruder’ is Cristoforo Baschenis, the painter of this work of art. Others say it is Matthew, the disciple selected to replace Judas after Jesus’ ascension to heaven. But this is not the only unusual feature of this fresco. Why are there huge amounts of crayfish on the table?

Lundo and the story of the bull on the bell tower

Who knows how true our village legends are? There is one which tells of a blade of grass that grew on the bell tower of the church at Lundo. Not wanting to waste it, the locals decided to bring a bull up the tower to eat it.

Lundo’s beautiful church 

The fate of the bull is not known! The truth or a tall tale? If you ask the people in Lundo, they just smile. Meanwhile, the same church is today home to a precious artefact. Something which is unique in the whole region. The marble arch canopy dating from the Carolingian era (9th century). An interwoven sculpture from a paleochristian church believed to have stood in Lundo or nearby, maybe on Monte Blestone where SMALL can be found, the ancient fortified Lombard settlement of San Martino.

Campo Lomaso and the life of Giovanni Battista Mattei

Then there are the stories which shaped the history of this valley. Such as the tale of notary Giovanni Battista Mattei. On his death, in 1826, he bequeathed the Bagno di Comano and its wonderful waters to the poor of the valley. From a well-off family, Mattei was born and lived in Campo Lomaso, where his house still stands. It is an aristocratic home, with an elegant twelve-arch loggia, supported by small columns and above the keystone you can still make out the remnants of classical frescoes. At the time, it was the finest villa in the village. The house was bequeathed to the council which used the building as its main offices for many years.