Chiavenna
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Chiavenna

Chiavenna

Alpine Lombardy town at old Swiss passes, known for stone palazzi and natural crotti cellars.

Chiavenna is a small alpine town in the Valchiavenna, at the junction of the Mera and Liro rivers in northernmost Lombardy, close to the Swiss border. It sits at the foot of the Maloja and Splügen passes, which means it has been a transit point between northern Italy and Switzerland for thousands of years — long enough for the Romans to establish a station here, and long enough for the medieval trading economy to leave its mark in the form of handsome stone palazzi lining the old town streets.

The town's most distinctive feature is its crotti — natural rock cellars formed where cold air flows from fissures in the glacial rock above town. For centuries these were used to store food and wine, and today many have been converted into restaurants and osterie with terraces built against the rock face. Eating in a crotto in Chiavenna is one of those genuinely local experiences that hasn't been manufactured for tourists.

The Collegiata di San Lorenzo church has a fine Romanesque baptistery with an extraordinary carved font, and its treasury contains the Pace di Chiavenna — a jewelled medieval Gospel cover considered one of the masterpieces of early medieval goldsmithing. Above town, the Paradiso Botanical Archaeological Park combines Roman ruins, a medieval castle, and views over both valleys. Up the valley at Piuro, the Acquafraggia waterfall drops dramatically down the hillside; Leonardo da Vinci reportedly sketched it during one of his alpine journeys. Chiavenna is also the start of cycling routes up both valleys, and on weekends in summer the town fills with Swiss cyclists who have come down from the Maloja Pass for lunch.

Guide

Eating Out

Chiavenna's cooking is firmly alpine: buckwheat pasta, polenta, bresaola (air-dried beef), mushrooms, and mountain cheeses. The crotti (see Things to Do) offer the most atmospheric setting, but there are also good trattorie in the old town.

Pizzoccheri — buckwheat tagliatelle cooked with cabbage, potato, and melted Valtellina Casera cheese — is the signature dish of the whole Valchiavenna. If you eat nothing else, eat this. Bresaola della Valchiavenna is a protected-origin product; the local version differs subtly from the better-known Valtellina bresaola in being slightly less salted. With a glass of Sassella or Grumello (the local red wines), it makes a perfect starter.

Guide

Getting There

Chiavenna is at the end of a rail line from Milan. Trains from Milano Centrale run regularly via Colico and take about two hours. From the station it is a five-minute walk to the old town.

By car, the A9 autostrada from Milan ends at Chiasso on the Swiss border; from there a fast road runs north through Lugano and over the border into the Valchiavenna. The drive from Milan takes about 90 minutes without traffic. The town is the starting point for the Maloja Pass (into the Engadine, Switzerland) and the Splügen Pass (into Graubünden). Both passes are closed in winter.

Guide

Things to Do

Chiavenna rewards a day or two of unhurried exploration. The old town is small enough to walk end-to-end in half an hour, but interesting enough to fill an afternoon. The crotti are the defining experience — pack a lunch, find a terrace, and eat in the shadow of the glacial rock. Cyclists heading up or down the Maloja Pass make Chiavenna a regular stop; walkers will find routes into both valleys.