Monte Barro Regional Park
At 922 metres, the summit of Monte Barro gives you something specific: Brianza hills rolling south toward the Po Valley, Lake Como glinting to the north, Monte Resegone and the Grigne serrating the skyline east. The view earns its reputation without needing much help from you.
Below that summit, 44 kilometres of marked trails thread through a park that shelters more than 1,200 plant species and a functioning ornithological station that has tracked bird migrations — nightjars, black kites, scops owls — since the early twentieth century. The hermitage at 750 metres, with its small Gothic church of S. Maria and its eighteenth-century frescoes, gives you somewhere to sit down.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to combine path 306 up to the Pian Sciresa plateau with path 301 to Sasso della Vecchia, then drop down path 302 through the Giovanni Fornaciari botanical trail to the hermitage for lunch. The Costa Perla bird-ringing station, purchased by the park in 1989, is worth a detour if migration season lines up.
The story behind Monte Barro Regional Park
Formal protection of Monte Barro took shape slowly. Concern surfaced in local newspapers as early as 1969; by January 1974 a consortium — the Consorzio per la Salvaguardia del Monte Barro — had formed to press the case. Regional Law 78/1983 gave the mountain its first legal status as a Lombardy Natural Park, and the current regional park was established in 2002.
The hill carries older layers too. Between 1986 and 1997, archaeological campaigns led by researchers G.P. Brogiolo and L. Castelletti uncovered a fortified settlement on the flat terraces of Pian di Barra, around 600 metres above sea level — walls and towers built in mortared rubble, dated to the early sixth century during the Ostrogothic period and destroyed around 560 AD. Villa Bertarelli, a Milanese family's second home from 1873 later renovated by architect Piero Portaluppi between 1911 and 1913, was acquired by the park and the town of Galbiate in 2003.
Good to know
Bus D55 from Lecco station reaches Galbiate, the park's main entry point. On Sundays and public holidays from Easter through September, the road to the hermitage closes to cars — a shuttle bus runs instead. The hostel at the hermitage has 48 beds and takes bookings in advance.
Spring and early autumn offer the clearest summit views and the most active bird migration periods at Costa Perla. Winter visits are possible but the upper paths can be wet and cold, particularly from December through February.
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What travellers say about Monte Barro Regional Park
Always a nice walk/hike. You can reach the eremo by car. Reaching the top requires a significant larger effort. Yet doable and safe if you wonder. Hiking boots are reccomended. With trainings is doable i guess. Flip flops no.
Lovely place. Nice young professional Service. Good food. Sunbathing terrace. Highly recommended day outside. Drive From milan and walk up are around 40 mns
Great archeological discoveries surrounded by nature and astonishing views
Great for family hikes
Highly recommend. Good for mount climbers
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