The refreshing coolness of the waterfall at the Orrido di Nesso

For younger travellers, visiting Nesso – and specifically its hamlet known as Coatesa – means experiencing the thrill of discovering the waterfall formed by the confluence of the Tuf and Nosè streams, which, after winding their way through the rocks, plunge headlong from a height of 200 metres, forming the gorge known as the Orrido di Nesso. Whilst this water power was once used to drive the mills, spinning mills, textile factories and paper mills throughout the Lario region, nowadays, during the summer, people come here to enjoy the spectacular sight of the waterfall, get splashed by its jets of water and then make their way to the medieval Ponte della Civera to take a leap into the lake: the youngsters queue up and encourage one another, even though the drop is quite modest. It seems that Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by it, so much so that in his Codex Atlanticus he wrote: “Nesso, a place where a river plunges with great force through a vast cleft in the mountain.”