Urio, Lake Como: A Small Village on the Western Shore

Urio village and its shoreline on the western side of Lake Como — The shoreline at Carate Urio looks out across the western arm of Lake Como. Photo: Riccardo Ortelli / Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 4.0.

Some Lake Como villages you visit; Urio you slip through. It is one of the smallest stops on the western shore, a scatter of houses, gardens and boathouses between the stone town of Moltrasio and the celebrity villas of Laglio.

There is no grand sight here, and that is rather the point. Urio is the lake at its most ordinary and unhurried — a place to slow the boat, not to fill a day.

A brief history

Like its neighbours, Urio grew as a fishing community on the old Regina road, the ancient route that ran the length of the western shore. Over the centuries the wealthy of Milan and Como bought up the waterfront for villas and gardens, and the village settled into the quiet, well-kept character it keeps today.

Where Urio sits on the lake

Urio lies on the western shore of the Como arm, a few kilometres north of Cernobbio, between Moltrasio to the south and Carate — with which it forms the comune of Carate Urio — and Laglio to the north. It is close enough to the city of Como for an easy half-day, and it faces east across the water toward the wooded slopes of the far shore.

Stone houses along the water at Urio on Lake Como — Stone houses line the water’s edge at Carate Urio on Lake Como. Photo: Ottantafame / Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 4.0.

The best things to see in Urio

1. The parish church

Urio’s parish church, dedicated to Santi Quirico e Giulitta, stands among the houses above the shore, rebuilt in 1865 on a Romanesque original. Like many on this stretch of the lake, it rewards a quiet look inside before you move on.

2. The lakefront and villas

The shoreline is the village’s real pleasure — a short stretch of waterfront lined with private villas, garden walls and boathouses, and long views across the water. It is a fine place to sit for a few minutes and watch the light move on the far shore.

3. The lanes and the quiet

Behind the water, a handful of stepped lanes climb between old houses toward the hillside. There is little to “see” in the guidebook sense; the appeal is the calm — a genuine, lived-in western-shore village with none of the crowds of its famous neighbours.

Planning your visit

Getting there. Urio sits on the western-shore road just north of Cernobbio, an easy drive or bus from Como; boats serve the nearby villages. See our Lake Como ferry guide for routes.

Best for. Travellers passing along the western shore who want a quiet pause rather than a headline sight; one for the lake’s hidden gems list.

When to go. Spring to early autumn, when the gardens are at their best.

Nearby. Moltrasio is a short step south and Cernobbio a little beyond it, with the city of Como anchoring the arm.

Urio asks nothing of you but a moment’s attention — a small, gentle village that is all the better for keeping to itself.