Holiday apartment in Garlate – Silk history, lake and culture

Garlate combines silk history, churches, villas and a location by the water. Several specific sites give the town a historical character. The interplay between the lakeshore, industrial history and sacred architecture gives the cultural themes different geographical anchors.

Lakeshore on Lago di Garlate

Lago di Garlate is formed by the Adda River and borders Garlate along its right bank. The location on the right lakeshore provides the landscape setting for the historic sites and the cycling loop.

Silk production in a historic setting

Silk production is the focus of the Museo della Seta Abegg. The process ranges from breeding silkworms according to the Pasteur method, through reeling the cocoons and twisting the thread, to the production of textiles. Silk processing therefore comprises several successive steps before the thread becomes a finished textile. The Museo della Seta Abegg is housed in the historic Abegg silk mill from the late 18th century in Garlate. The combination of the production steps and the historic building anchors the history of silk directly in Garlate.

Early Christian history at Santo Stefano

The Chiesa di Santo Stefano leads into an older history of the town. Its origins are early Christian. Three churches stood there until the end of the 16th century. The site was originally occupied by a Roman villa built in the 1st century AD. The Roman villa therefore predates the later churches on the same site.

Villa Pozzi and the Prometheus cycle

Villa Pozzi is a 17th-century complex with a large park that slopes down to the lake. The ground-floor salon of Villa Pozzi contains a fresco cycle by Cherubino Cornienti with five scenes depicting the deeds of Prometheus. The park forms the outdoor area of the complex, while the fresco cycle occupies an interior space on the ground floor.

Castle and museums in the surrounding area

Castello Dell'Innominato, a castle, is located in the immediate vicinity of Garlate. The Museo Etnografico Dell'Alta Brianza is also located nearby. The Museo Archeologico Lecco is additionally situated in the area around Garlate. Thus, alongside the silk mill, the surroundings of Garlate offer a historic building and two further museums.

Cycling loop along the Adda and the lakes

The “Lecco e l’anello dei laghi” cycling loop follows the Adda River to the lakes of Garlate and Olginate. The loop connects the river course with several lakes and therefore remains focused on the waterside landscape. It is not limited to Lago di Garlate alone, but also includes Lake Olginate.

Travel by train without a station in Garlate

Garlate has no railway station. For travel by train, Calolziocorte-Olginate station serves as the reference point. Those planning to travel by rail should therefore take into account a station outside Garlate.

More places for planning your trip: Missaglia, Piantedo, Vendrogno, Vercurago, Merate, Costa Masnaga, Colico and Dervio.

To the main travel overview: Lecco.