BELLANO, Orrido Di Bellano
Language: English / USA
As I have already mentioned, the charming village of Bellano is best known for a place with a suggestive name: the Orrido di Bellano.
The term 'orrido' in Italian makes one think of something frightening, but it is actually a word that can also be used as a synonym for gorge or canyon.
Walking through the streets of the village, in fact, near the ancient Church dedicated to Saints Nazario and Celso, you find the entrance to a path made up of footbridges, anchored to the rocks, overlooking a gorge carved, over 15 million years, by the Pioverna stream.
The presence of this canyon and other gorges in the neighboring areas is due to the erosion caused by the course of this rushing torrent and its tributaries, but also to the fact that, during the Ice Age, a glacier formed in the valley above it, which, as it melted later on, caused its waters to carve deep furrows along its slopes.
When visiting the Orrido, you will notice that right at the beginning of the route stands a building with an eerie name, the Casa del Diavolo (House of the Devil), a tower with a pentagonal plan, which owes its name to the frescoes visible on the exterior walls, among which a devil wielding a pitchfork is recognizable. Of course, numerous sinister legends have developed around this structure, but there is no certain information about its original function. Today, however, it has been transformed into an interesting museum of the area.
I also recommend a visit to the ancient Church of Saints Nazario and Celso in Piazza San Giorgio, built between 1342 and 1350, named after two martyrs who were beheaded in Milan in 76 A.D. as a result of persecution against Christians, after having escaped the death penalty several times.
The late Romanesque church, despite the simplicity of its black and white striped façade, contains interesting Renaissance frescoes, an imposing polychrome marble high altar and a valuable 17th century baptistery, visible near the entrance.
Let me leave you with an interesting fact: a legend says that along the banks of the Pioverna stream lies buried a precious treasure and its owner, a valiant warrior named Taino. So...... watch your step!
