Monte Bisbino Summit Road
The winding SP33 road that climbs from Cernobbio to the 1325-metre summit of Monte Bisbino is one of Lombardy's great driving secrets, rewarding those who make the ascent with a 360-degree panorama stretching from the Swiss Alps to the Milan plain. On clear mornings the lake below looks like hammered silver.
The drive up
The road begins just behind Cernobbio's town centre and corkscrews through dense chestnut forest, passing the Sanctuary of Madonna del Bisbino — a pilgrimage chapel dating to the 12th century that locals decorate with ex-voto offerings. Stop here for a moment of quiet before continuing to the treeline.
Above the forest the landscape opens dramatically. Dry-stone walls, alpine meadows and the occasional chamois sighting replace the lakeside villas below. The final kilometre to the summit cross is unpaved but manageable in a standard car.
What you see from the top
From the iron summit cross you can trace the full length of Lake Como's western arm, identify the rooftops of Cernobbio and Como town, and on exceptional days pick out the Milan skyline shimmering to the south. To the north, the Lugano Pre-Alps and Monte Rosa massif fill the horizon.
Sunrise is the photographer's moment: the lake sits in shadow while the peaks catch the first pink light, and mist sometimes pools in the valleys below like a second lake. Bring a warm layer even in July — the summit is reliably 8–10°C cooler than the waterfront.
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