Oliveto Lario, Lake Como: Three Hamlets Among the Olive Groves

Shoreline of Oliveto Lario at Onno on the Lecco arm of Lake Como beneath limestone cliffs — The shoreline of Oliveto Lario at Onno, with a passenger boat calling below the limestone walls of Monte Moregallo. Photo: Jan da Oliveto / Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 4.0.

Some Lake Como places are a single village; Oliveto Lario is three. This quiet comune on the western shore of the Lecco arm gathers the hamlets of Onno, Vassena and Limonta among the olive groves that give it its name — a gentle, green, little-visited corner facing the mountains of Mandello across the water.

There are no grand monuments here. The pleasures are simple and real: clear water, quiet coves, olive terraces and a mountain road climbing toward one of cycling’s great shrines.

A brief history

The three hamlets of Oliveto Lario each grew as small fishing and farming communities on the sheltered western shore of the Lecco arm, their terraces planted with the olives that thrive in the lake’s mild climate. Limonta has an old tie to the abbey of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, which held lands here for centuries. In 1927 the villages were joined into a single comune, named for the olive groves that cover its slopes.

Where Oliveto Lario sits on the lake

Oliveto Lario lies on the western shore of the Lecco arm, facing Mandello del Lario across the water and sitting below the high ridge that runs up toward Bellagio. Onno is the southernmost of its hamlets, with Vassena above it and Limonta furthest north toward Bellagio.

Small harbour and pebble beach at Onno, a hamlet of Oliveto Lario on Lake Como — The landing stage and pebble beach at Onno, the lakeside hamlet of Oliveto Lario. Photo: Jan da Oliveto / Wikimedia Commons – CC BY-SA 4.0.

The best things to see in Oliveto Lario

1. Onno’s harbour and beaches

Onno is the comune’s little jewel on the water — a small harbour, pebble beaches and clear, quiet swimming, with the Grigne rising across the lake. It is one of the more relaxed places for a dip on the Lecco arm, well off the tourist track.

2. The olive groves and hamlets

The terraced olive groves that name the comune climb the slopes above the shore, and the three hamlets — Onno, Vassena and Limonta — each keep their old lanes, churches and lakeside character. Wandering between them is the gentlest way to spend an afternoon.

3. The climb toward the Madonna del Ghisallo

The lake road runs north through the hamlets to Bellagio, where the celebrated Ghisallo climb begins — up through Civenna and Magreglio to the sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo, patron of cyclists and a place of pilgrimage for riders the world over. It is a demanding but celebrated route for cyclists; our hiking and outdoor guide covers the wider area.

Planning your visit

Getting there. Oliveto Lario sits on the western-shore road of the Lecco arm; Onno has a boat landing linking across to Mandello and along the arm. See our Lake Como ferry guide.

Best for. Swimmers, cyclists and travellers after a genuinely quiet, green corner of the lake; one of the lake’s hidden gems.

When to go. Late spring to early autumn, for warm water and clear mountain roads.

Nearby. Mandello del Lario faces the comune across the water, Lierna lies a little north on the far shore, and Bellagio sits over the ridge to the north.

Oliveto Lario asks for nothing grand — a swim off Onno, a walk among the olives, a hard climb toward the Ghisallo — the lake at its quietest and most unhurried.