| The path of the holy hermits (Esino Lario) | |
 | |
| Itinerary type | Pedestrian |
|---|---|
| State |  Italy |
| Region | Lombardy |
| Territory | Lecco |
| City | Esino Lario |
| Start | Piazza Pietro Pensa |
| end | Sasso di San Defendente |
The path of the holy hermits is an itinerary that takes place through the municipality of Esino Lario, in Lecco.
Introduction
This linear itinerary (with round trip along the same paths marked by trail sign 22A and 22E for the variant) consists of a walk through the woods and meadows of Esino, up to the Sasso di San Defendente, a Roman military martyr who, according to tradition, he would have lived in this area. The planned route (round trip, excluding the detour to Narele) is about 7 km long (8.5 km if you decide to stop in Narele on the way back).
How to get
 | To learn more, see: How to get to Esino Lario. |
We can start the itinerary from any point of Esino Lario. Here we describe the route starting from Piazza Pietro Pensa, where the town hall is located.
Preparations
To better face this walk in the Esinesi woods it is good to wear trekking shoes and it is advisable to bring a packed lunch with you, to be consumed in one of the panoramic points that you touch along the way, with splendid views of Lake Como on the town of Esino Lario.
Stages
The path of the holy hermits: full screen map.- 1 Piazza Pietro Pensa (Esino Lario start point)
- 2 I knock
- 3 Pass of Agueglio
- 4 Sasso di San Defendente (arrival point)
- 5 Narele (variant)
Starting from Esino, leaving the town hall on the right, go up following via Bertarini; then continue on the provincial road (via 25 aprile) to take via Montefiori on the left. Immediately on the right we find a pedestrian street that continues to rise: it is via Agueglio. We follow the road going straight up to Piazza Armando Diaz, where we find two fountains and a wash house. We then continue to climb along via Agueglio until we reach the top of the town, where the cobbled road turns into the mule track that leads to Agueglio.
Here we follow the mule track, leaving on the right another mule track that leads to Cavedo and the Roman tower that dominates the town and which once guarded the access roads to the Valsassina. We thus enter the Pannero valley, which takes its name from the stream of the same name and which the inhabitants of Esin know as Val Volta. We climb up to meet the farms of I knock, where interesting Celtic settlements were found and where once there were fields and fruit plants, crops favored by the good climatic conditions of the place.
After passing Busso, the road continues into the woods and crosses the Gromm valley, where it has been verified the presence of a rare endemic form of crested salamander. Arrived at a crossroads, we keep to the right and continue towards the step of Agueglio (1142 m a.s.l.), characterized by the large meadow hump between Val d'Esino and Valsassina with a splendid view of the northern branch of the Lake Como, with the peninsula of Dervio in the foreground and the Lepontine Alps on the border with Switzerland.
From the small church of San Defendente, with frescoes the Madonna of the Snow is Sant'Antonio abate, and located where the path meets the provincial road, we turn left and continue on the road until the wood begins again. A little further on we find on the right the path with the indications for San Defendente: we take this road that leads after a few meters to a fountain and, further on, to the source of Léscen. Thus we arrive at the top of the Sasso di San Defendente (1326 m a.s.l.), an incredible panoramic point on the three branches of Lake Como, on the Alps and on the Grigna.
The legend tells that the holy hermit, who lived here, talked with the night fire with the other six hermit brothers who gave their name to as many peaks and chapels visible from here; the fires that gave rise to the legend were actually used as signals in the late Roman and early medieval periods.
On the way back, we retrace the same paths we followed to climb.
Deviations
Shortly before (outward) or shortly after (on the return) the Agueglio pass, it could be suggestive to take a detour to the meadows of Narele, where you can admire a place that has remained as it once was, with a very beautiful view of the Grigna and Esino, which can be observed throughout its territory.
