"Beer tourism - guide for busy travellers" (Edizioni Lswr) Luca Grandi and a team of professionals (tourism and beer experts) suggest some interesting itineraries to discover spectacular landscapes and craft breweries that tell the history and culture of the places where they were born. Discover two routes in Lombardy to discover landscapes (and breweries).
Two Lombardy Beer Itineraries in Beer spots
"Beer Tourism" is a 4-volume work that brings together 60 little-trodden routes and itineraries to discover quality microbreweries in the region. Among these are the following two Lombardy itineraries:
Not only rice fields: the Lomellina
A stone's throw from Milan, Lomellina occupies a corner of Lombardy often ignored by tourism. In the early middle ages, with various reclamations, the inhospitable Lomellina landscape became a productive land, embellished with poplar groves and small protected reserves. Local monks and clergy first - followed by the lords and dukes of Milan and farmers under the rule of the Savoys - modified watercourses, built embankments and cleared forests to create what today looks like (but is not) an entirely spontaneous landscape.
The stages of the itinerary
- Vigevano, the City of the Moor
- Flying with herons towards the Po
- The Little Loire: Sartirana, Lomello, Scaldasole
- The Gerola Bridge, on the border with Lombardy
What beer to taste?
Simone Ghiro founded the Gambolò Brewery, in the town of the same name in the province of Pavia, in 2012. The microbrewery concept is fully expressed here, from the choice of technical equipment to the utilisation of the small space available - just over 150 square metres, - everything is studied in detail and refers back to Simone, the company's one-man show, and his meticulous attention to every aspect at all times. Simone has a penchant for the use of North American hops, and the beers he produces well represent his taste. The brews range from North American, such as IPA and APA, to low fermentation German inspired, Belgian and seasonal beers and "one-shot" (brewed only once) beers.
Mountains and literature between Lecco and Valsassina
An expanse of gentle waters greets us in Lecco coming from the south. The majestic Adda river, after having ploughed the great plains of the Valtellina, resumes its path by flowing out of the Lario (Lake Como). Three short streams descend from the east and enter the city, while group of small lakes- that look like islands of water - delineate the border between the province of Lecco and Brianza: Alserio and Segrino, Pusiano and Annone, up to the fascinating lakes of Garlate and Olginate, which in reality are nothing more than swellings of the Adda.
We are on the branch of the Lario less frequented by tourists, but which is certainly the most famous in the literary world, especially since Manzoni’s The Betrothed have become part of our collective imagination. All around Lecco, a frame of rocky, pointed mountains embraces the area: the Coltignone and San Martino on one side, the Corni di Canzo, Moregallo and Barro on the other. And then of course there is Mount Serrada, better known as Resegone, with its unmistakable serrated silhouette.
The itinerary starts in Lecco and ends in Bellano, which overlooks where the three branches of Lake Como meet.
The stages of the itinerary
Manzonian places in and around Lecco
First moments in Valsassina
In the company of poets and miners in the villages of Pasturo and Barzio
Cycling along the Pioverna: from Introbio to Taceno
The mouth of the Pioverna: Bellano
What beer to taste?
The first brewery in the Valsassina La mia birra is the work of Lucia Tenderini and her husband Bruno Moneta, is located in Valvarrone, in Premana, a village of just over 2000 souls, historically linked to ironworking and now recognised as a scissors and cutlery district.
The local water is very suitable for a range of beers inspired by the Central European strictly bottom-fermented tradition and which sometimes look to classic production methods that are, unfortunately, little practised today, such as wort decoction that enhances the fragrance of the malts. The references, which include among others a Bavarian Helles, a Vienna, and a Rauch Beer (a smoked beer originating in Bamberg), are mostly low in alcohol content (the average just over 5%) to emphasise easy drinking.
In Taceno, in the neighbouring Val Muggiasca, is the Belli e Beati brewery, the brewery's own establishment.
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Where to go on holiday in Italy in November: 9 top destinations for 2025
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