Brienno is about twenty minutes from Como,framed by the mountains of Briante and San Bernardo,on a stretch of coast where the rock drops into the water leaving almost no room to spare.

The result is that the houses in the old center are literally built into the water,looking across the lake toward Nesso and its gorge. Between one building and the next run alleys so narrow they feel like indoor corridors,with porticoes,underpasses,and staircases weaving together to form what the village's own website rightly calls the labyrinth village.

Anyone arriving for the first time almost always does the same thing: heads down from the Regina toward the lake through some random alley,and within five minutes has no idea anymore which way they came in. It's the best experience Brienno has to offer,and it's worth going along with it instead of fighting it.

The history told by the municipality goes back a very long way. The village is said to have been founded by the Celts,with traces on the territory dating as far back as the fourth century,and to have later become a Roman colony: Roman gravestones found in the village remain from that period.

The first documented historical sources date back to the tenth century,and it's during that period that a castle is recorded as existing. It's a detail that says a lot: it means Brienno wasn't just any village,but a stronghold in the lake's defensive system.

The village took part in the Ten Years' War between Como and Milan. After Frederick Barbarossa's defeat it passed first to Milan,then became a fiefdom of the Bishop of Como. During Spanish rule it was ceded to the Gallio family. And here comes the most surprising fact: Brienno was only formally established as a municipality in 1948.

GOOD TO KNOW

• In 1335 Brienno appears in the Statutes of Como,and not for a privilege: the community was required to maintain the stretch of Via Regina running through its territory. Seven hundred years later,that same road remains the village's biggest problem.

This is the story Brienno is known for,and it's more interesting than how it's usually told.

The legend says that Frederick Barbarossa,after his defeat at Legnano in 1176,stopped right here,and that he drank to dull the pain of his military humiliation. Leaving the tavern he tripped on a step and hit his head so hard that he lost a tooth. A local resident picked it up.

So far this is folklore,and nobody in Brienno claims otherwise. The verifiable part comes next. The tooth was kept in a parish reliquary case until 1937,when the Bishop of Como decided to remove anything that couldn't be considered a genuine relic of a saint. Since then,nothing more is known about the object.

What's striking is that the village kept telling the story even after losing the proof. The Carnevale del Barbarossa,organized by the local club,reenacts that exact sequence every year: the emperor's procession through the alleys of the old town,the banquet,the local wine,the fall,the tooth left behind in the village.

Did you know?

• Many online articles call Brienno's parish church the "Church of Saints Nazario and Sauro," confusing the saint Celsus with Nazario Sauro,the irredentist figure from World War I. The correct dedication is to Saints Nazaro and Celso,martyrs of Milan. It's a mistake that gets copied from one site to another without anyone ever checking the source.

Sant'Anna,also known as San Vittore. At the entrance to the village,it's among the oldest on Lake Como,as shown by its eleventh-century Romanesque bell tower. It's small,tucked away,with a lawn overlooking the water and a small staircase leading down to a tiny harbor. Worth a stop just for the silence.

Saints Nazaro and Celso. The parish church,just steps from the shore,of Romanesque origin and reworked in Baroque style in the seventeenth century. Inside are paintings by Gian Paolo Recchi,two fine sixteenth-century stained-glass windows,and an altarpiece by Andrea de' Passeri.

On the church square stands the War Memorial,and it deserves a mention because it's not the usual rhetorical bronze statue. It depicts an Alpine soldier holding a stone in his hand. It commemorates an episode from the Libyan war,when the Morbegno regiment,made up mostly of soldiers native to this area,found itself surrounded and out of ammunition,and armed itself with stones instead.

L'Immacolata. Near the cemetery,in a scenic spot. It's the climb almost no visitor makes,which is exactly why the view from up there is still peaceful.

Beneath the square in front of the parish church lies a preserved fortification from the Cadorna Line,built during the First World War. The bunkers,tunnels,and service rooms are still visible today.

It's worth pausing for a second on what that means. The Cadorna Line was a defensive system erected to counter a possible invasion from the Swiss border,a scenario that fortunately never came to pass.

Brienno,which in the tenth century had a castle guarding the lake,found itself in the twentieth century hosting yet another military installation,built against a threat coming from the same direction. The era changes,but the village's strategic role does not.

Back to the road,because it's the thread that ties everything together.

In 1335 the Statutes of Como required Brienno to maintain its stretch of Via Regina. In 2021 that same road,by then known as State Road 340,was closed due to a landslide right at the village. In between lie seven centuries during which the community kept doing the same thing: keeping open a passage that the mountain keeps trying to close.

Anyone visiting Brienno today experiences this in the most mundane way possible: looking for parking. The Regina runs through the village leaving very few spots to stop,and in high season finding one is a matter of luck. It's the same age-old constraint,in a modern-day version.

The village can be explored on foot and for free. There are no tickets,opening hours,or set routes,which is rare and worth taking advantage of.

How much time. Two hours are enough for a relaxed visit to the old center. Add the climb to L'Immacolata or one of the trails leading up to the mountains above the village,and it becomes half a day.

When to go. Early morning or late afternoon,and ideally avoiding July and August weekends. Not so much because of crowds,which stay manageable here,but because of parking and light: the alleys are narrow and at midday the contrast makes for tricky photos.

What to wear. Shoes with good grip. The stone staircases are smooth and in some spots damp all year round.

The churches. Opening hours for the parish church and smaller chapels depend on services and volunteer availability. It's best to check the village website or call the parish before heading out,especially if you're coming for the frescoes.

By bus. The C110 line,Como–Argegno–Menaggio–Colico,stops at Brienno Genzanico. On the 2026 summer weekday schedule,starting from Como's bus station,the village is reachable in 31 minutes. It's the simplest way,and it solves the parking problem entirely. Watch the line number: the old C10 has been called the C110 since June 2025,and many guides still show the old numbering.

By car. State Road 340 Regina from Como,about twenty minutes under normal conditions. Keep in mind that parking spots in the village are extremely limited.

By boat. Brienno has a small harbor,but for the scheduled boat service the reference stop remains Argegno,a little further north,from where you continue on the C110 or on foot along the coast.

For the full picture of connections around the lake,with verified schedules and travel times,see our guide to Lake Como without a car.

Where is Brienno located? On the western shore of the Como branch,between Laglio and Argegno,along the Via Regina state road,about twenty minutes from Como and an hour from Milan.

Why is Brienno called the labyrinth village? Because the rock leaves almost no space between the mountain and the lake,so the village developed vertically and in depth,with extremely narrow alleys,underpasses,porticoes,and staircases that weave into one another. The houses in the old center are built directly into the water.

Is the story of Frederick Barbarossa's tooth true? The emperor's visit to Brienno belongs to legend. What the village does document is that a tooth attributed to Barbarossa was kept in a parish reliquary case until 1937,when the Bishop of Como had objects removed that weren't genuine relics of saints.

How much time do you need to visit Brienno? Two hours for the historic center. Half a day if you add the climb to the church of L'Immacolata or a trail up into the mountains.

Can you get to Brienno without a car? Yes. The C110 bus line connects Como to Brienno in just over half an hour,with a stop in the village. Given how scarce parking is,this is the recommended option.