High above Lake Mezzola in Lombardy, a small stone village sits at the end of a steep mountain path. There is no road leading up to it, no car park waiting at the top and no traffic passing its houses.
Set in a rugged granite valley in the province of Sondrio, this village is an unusual day trip for hikers, slow-travel fans and anyone after a quieter corner of northern Italy. Reaching it means shouldering a rucksack and following an old mule track out of Novate Mezzola.
Where Codera is in Lombardy
Codera is a mountain hamlet above Lake Mezzola in the province of Sondrio. It sits at around 850 metres above sea level in Val Codera, a steep side valley facing towards Valchiavenna and Valtellina.
The village is made up of stone homes with piode roofs, along with vegetable gardens, terraced meadows and chestnut woodland. Its lack of road access is the defining detail. There are no coaches arriving in the village and no passing vehicles outside the houses.
That isolation also affects everyday life. Supplies, materials and practical jobs have to be managed without a drivable road, using manual carrying, permitted transport methods and, when required, other exceptional arrangements.
Stacked firewood, maintained walls, tended gardens and tools left outside homes are visible reminders that this is a lived-in mountain settlement, not simply a trail stop.
The walk from Novate Mezzola to Codera
The main route begins in Novate Mezzola, accessible by car along the road running beside Lake Como and Lake Mezzola, or by train to Novate-Mezzola station.
The trailhead lies around 15 minutes on foot from the station, following signs towards Castello/Mezzolpiano.
The mule track starts climbing almost immediately. It follows an old route with granite steps, stone slabs and sections cut or built into the rock.
The route takes around two hours and climbs more than 600 metres. Some parts run along steep slopes with guardrails. As the route gains height, the woodland opens in places and views towards Lake Mezzola appear below. Rocky walls draw closer further up the valley, adding to the sense of leaving road-accessible Italy behind.
A valley with a small resident community
Val Codera is still inhabited by a small community and has accommodation facilities. The valley’s heritage is supported by the Associazione Amici della Val Codera, founded in the early 1980s to counter abandonment and support its natural and cultural heritage.
Its work includes slow tourism, restoring cultivated plots, mowing meadows and looking after the Museum of History, Ethnography and Natural History. Local memory connects the valley with clandestine Scouting and the Italian Resistance.
Planning a visit to Codera
A day in Codera involves roughly two hours of climbing, time to explore the village, lunch at a facility in the valley and the return to Novate Mezzola by the same route. A longer itinerary is needed to avoid retracing the walk.
Overnight stays may be available, but opening periods and availability need confirming beforehand.
Late spring through autumn is identified as the most convenient period for the walk. Summer calls for an early start, as the lower part of the route can be hot. Autumn brings changing colours to the chestnut woods. Winter conditions are more demanding: snow and ice require experience, appropriate equipment and an advance check of conditions.
The information in this piece is based on the Italian article “In Lombardia c’è un magico borgo di pietra senza strade né auto: si raggiunge solo a piedi”, published by The WOM Travel.
Source: https://www.idealista.it/