The best walks and hikes around Carnate

The Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel is the symbolic monument of Montevecchia, located on top of a hill overlooking the Brianza lecchese and the Curone Park. Known for its spectacular panoramic position, it offers a view that on the clearest days ranges from the profiles of the Prealps (like the Resegone) to the skyline of Milan.

Montevecchia Alta is a charming hilltop village located about 500 meters above sea level in the heart of the Lecco Brianza region. Considered one of the most panoramic and romantic spots in Lombardy, it overlooks the splendid scenery of the Montevecchia and Curone Valley Regional Park.

This church was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, also known as the "Princes of the Apostles." Their feast day is June 29. Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he and his brother Andrew were called by Jesus Christ to be "fishers of men." According to Catholic doctrine, he is the chief apostle, and the two-thousand-year line of popes—currently Francis—follows him. In statues and paintings, Peter is almost always depicted with two keys in his hand. This attribute refers to the biblical passage in Matthew: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19). Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he and his brother Andrew were called by Jesus Christ to be "fishers of men." Paul was initially an opponent of the Christian movement and, unlike the other apostles, was not called to the apostleship by Jesus Christ during his lifetime, but was converted later through the famous "Damascus Road experience." His attribute is the sword with which he was executed. Such a sentence was a "privilege" under Roman law at the time (a swift death, unlike other forms of execution which involved a long, agonizing death struggle) afforded to the citizens of Rome.

Cascina Butto, located at Via Butto 1 in Montevecchia, is the main headquarters of the Montevecchia and Curone Valley Regional Park. This historic building houses the park's visitor center, a hub for information, educational activities, and nature trails in the area.

Villa Anguissola in Busca D’Adda is a historic neoclassical residence, built primarily in 1807 on the initiative of Count Carlo Francesco Anguissola. Despite the deterioration it suffered, it has been restored and is considered a notable example of neoclassical architecture in Brianza, with roots that also include a 17th-century palace and a 15th-century farm building.

In the main square of Montevecchia stands a villa renowned not only for its architectural beauty but also for having been the summer residence of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, who can be considered one of the founders of gender equality and female independence, having achieved a prestigious position in a field formerly reserved for men: science and mathematics. Maria Gaetana was a child prodigy, with an extraordinary intelligence and the fortune of being raised by a father who did everything to cultivate and nurture her talent. At just seventeen, Maria wrote her first essay, a commentary on the analysis of conic sections by the French mathematician L'Hôpital, and, a few years later, a collection of essays on philosophy, mathematics, and physics, the "Propositiones philosophicae," which also addressed the issue of female education. But the work for which Maria rightly entered history was the Analytical Institutions, a two-volume text of over a thousand pages, intended as a study manual that covered the different areas of mathematics in a clear and concise manner: algebra, geometry and the newborn differential and integral calculus.

Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, it stands atop the Montevecchia hill. From the terrace, there is a splendid view of much of the Po Valley, the Alps, and the Apennines, almost reaching as far as Bologna.

A few steps to get to the little church but the view from above makes it worthwhile