Consonno, Brianza's ghost town: the loop between the abandoned village and the hamlets of Monte di Brianza

In the 1960s a businessman bought a whole village and turned it into a «toy town»: a minaret, a ballroom, shops, an oversized bell tower. In 1976 a landslide took the road away and Consonno emptied out. Today it is an abandoned village in the middle of the woods, and you can only reach it on foot.

The route

We start from Olginate, on the Adda, and climb through the woods to Consonno: a loop of 11 kilometres with 500 metres of climb, on mule tracks and trails inside the Monte di Brianza park.

After walking among the ruins we continue to Villa Vergano, a hamlet of old houses on the ridge, and close the loop dropping back towards the lake, with the Grigna in front and the Brianza lakes below.

Who it's for

• anyone who wants to walk without taking on a mountain
• anyone bringing children: there is a story at every bend
• dog owners
• anyone after a day that works even under a grey sky

Good to know

The ruins are unsafe: we look at them from outside and do not enter the buildings. Lunch is packed; the kiosk at Consonno opens at weekends, to be checked. Olginate is reachable by train from Milan. Highest point 667 metres.

Getting there

By car from Milan about one hour (SS36 to Calolziocorte, then Olginate): parking in the village. By train, the Milan–Lecco line stops at Olginate–Calolziocorte, a ten-minute walk from the meeting point. Guiddy car pooling works well for this trip.