Gerra Gambarogno
Since 2010, Gerra Gambarogno has been part of the Municipality of Gambarogno, a conglomerate of some 10 villages with the common factor of all belonging to the Riviera of Gambarogno - that is the Swiss part on the eastern shores of Lake Maggiore.
The new municipality’s territory extends from the border with Italy to Magadino. The towns along the lakeshore are as follows (in order): Caviano, Sant'Abbondio, Gerra, San Nazzaro, Vira and Magadino. Sant’Abbondio and Piazzogna are in a hilly area while Indemini is in a mountainous area.
Gerra Gambarogno
Once called Ronco dei Martignoni, Gerra includes several inhabited nuclei of medieval origin, Scimiana being the one in best condition. It has cobblestone alleys, pretty portals and subways between homes - a very common solution in local rural architecture.
The renowned town of Riva is also on the lake.
The scenic old town centre in hillside Ronco is intact and has numerous medieval homes characterised by stone portals, strong architraves, wooden walkways and massive corner stones: a Suckling Madonna fresco from the end of the 15th century attributed to the circle of Antonio da Tradate is on the external wall of a medieval house. The Oratory of S. Bernardino has frescoes (1485) by Antonio da Tradate and a valuable 18th-century scagliola antependium by Pietro Solari.
San Nazzaro
Heading north from Gerra leads to San Nazzaro, another town incorporated under the Municipality of Gambarogno, and a well-known holiday destination on the Riviera. The parish church has a late-medieval bell tower and a valuable white scagliola antependium (1773) by Giuseppe Maria Pancaldi. The Gambarogno Botanical Park in Vairano is also worth visiting.
Vira
Continuing north leads to Vira, a typical fisherman’s village on the Riviera with little cobbled alleys, subways, minute squares and small domestic gardens. These alleys are home to a unique outdoor sculpture event and exhibit of crèches by the schools in the district. Places to visit: casa Tommasina (Tommasina house), former casa Breetz (Breetz house), and the Parish Church of San Pietro in a marvellous panoramic position on the lake.
Piazzogna and Indemini
A road ascends from Vira to the little town of Piazzogna, a hillside-village characterised by its view of the lake, and the picturesque village of Indemini, located at over 900 m asl, once again on the border with Italy and with the Lombard Veddasca Valley.
