The best traffic-free bike rides around Mesenzana

Beautiful cycle path

The bike path is perfect.

Church of Saint John Baptist, Germignaga Church of Saints Giovanni Battista and Rocco, Germignaga From a document of the 14th century, it is assumed that Germignaga was kept in Valtravaglia. After the plague of 1523, a small square chapel dedicated to Saint Rocco, invoked against the plague, was built in the center of the country at the behest of a Giovanni Pietro Calderoni. This building was later confirmed with the double title of Saint Rocco and Saint Sebastian. In 1578 the enlargement of the small church began, promoted by Archbishop Charles Borromeo. From the report of the pastoral visit of Archbishop Frederick Borromeo in 1596, it is clear that the works had not been completed since a major construction. In 1644 the foundations of the bell tower were laid and in 1685 it was decided to enlarge the church, but this project was not completed because the works stopped after a major construction. At the beginning of the 18th century he decided to make a complete reorientation and the project was entrusted to Carlo Federico Pietrasanta. The current church was built starting from 1707; was finally completed in 1740. During his pastoral visit in 1827, the Milanese Archbishop Carlo Gaetano von Gaisruck encouraged the population to enlarge the choir, which was practical a few years later, i.e. in 1832. In 1835 the parish was transferred from the old church of St. John the Baptist to the hill. Between 1836, the year in which he joined the rectory of Luino, and 1844 the building was modified according to the design of Natale Pugnetti. In 1895, as noted by Archbishop Ferrari, the faithful were 2500. Finally, the parish was restored between 1994 and 1995. Text: Wikipedia https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_dei_Santi_Giovanni_Battista_e_Rocco_(Germignaga)

View of Lake Maggiore / German Langensee, view towards Intra / Verbania

Chiesa di san Giorgio, Sarigo The construction of the church began in the second half of the 12th century, in the Lombard Romanesque style. The building became an important place of worship for the parish of Valtravaglia, especially for the presence of the granite baptismal font, still present today and considered miraculous for centuries. The apse and bell tower of the small church are still intact, while some restorations have affected the central body of the structure. The decorations of the apse suggest influences from the Como area, in particular from Master Komacini. These decorations concern the pattern of the half-columns and the frame of the monoblock architects. The tall and massive bell tower is common to the other bell towers of Valtravaglia. At the back of the church is the cemetery of Sarigo.

Amazing. Lights but no traffic. I stopped several times to wait my green turn but never saw any traffic. Maybe happened only to me 🙂

Signs of unspeakable torture were found on all the bodies found, signs clearly visible in the photographs taken before the burial, in order to allow their recognition". Five corpses found in Cucco were identified, the other three still remain without a name. Giorgio Bocca wrote that in the history of the Italian Resistance the battle of San Martino occupies a place of its own and is configured as an episode of Risorgimento inspiration. The Italians also contributed to the defeat of the partisans perched on San Martino, from the Republican interpreter, remembered by the parish priest of Arcumeggia, Don Alberto Marchesi, to the "X MAS, some of whom were dressed like Germans", according to the testimony of Don Ulderico Belli, coadjutor of Cuveglio. However, Colonel Croce was not as naïve as some recent historiography would have us believe.

In reference to the events of San Martino, historical researcher Francesca Boldrini writes: "Only one partisan dies in battle, Italo Corazza, hit when he arrives at the barracks to warn his comrades of what happened at the summit and a few hundred Germans. The partisans, taken prisoner at the top of San Martino, Lieutenant Alfio Manciagli (Folco), the soldiers Osvaldo Brioschi, Giovanni Vacca, Angelo Ventura, Elvezio Rossi, Franco Ghezzi, Gianfranco Colombo, Giuseppe Pellegatta will be shot, after the battle, in front at the Cadorna Barracks; those captured during the battle and subsequently, especially the men of the 1st company placed to defend the lower tunnels who left the position when they were abandoned by their commanders, will suffer the same fate, after barbaric torture.