Ponte del Passo
The Passo Bridge is the only land passage to move from one shore to the other of Lake Como. Walk towards Dascio and Pian di Spagna.
What to see
Originally, it was located a little further north and was made up of a structure of steel beams resting on two pillars in the Mera river. From the construction dating back to the second half of the 1800s, only the uprights on the opposite banks remain.
The name derives from the toponym "Passo d'Adda," which first clarifies that until a good part of the 19th century, at that point, one did not cross the Mera, but the Adda, until it was diverted towards Colico. Secondly, there were no bridges, but there was a "pass" or ferry service, originally with simple boats, later organized more systematically with a "flying port" service.
During the final stages of World War II, the Ponte del Passo was constantly monitored by the II Legion of the Republican National Guard of the Frontier to prevent it from being mined. After April 25, 1945, the garrison of the "Confinaria" nearby, and probably on the Ponte del Passo itself, was attacked by partisans. The clash ceased when, through the parish priest of Gera Lario, Don Ernesto Gusmeroli, an honorable surrender was offered that guaranteed the safety of the soldiers, co-signed by the parish priest himself and the commander of the finance guard, Scappin, who had joined the partisans. However, once they surrendered, the signatories lost interest in the prisoners, abandoning them to their fate. Only Mayor Venturino Noghera, sensing the situation, managed to take away the five youngest soldiers to save them. The other prisoners, remaining nine, were murdered on the night between May 2 and 3. When the bodies were found, it was again Mayor Noghera who took care of giving them burial. Ideally, the Ponte del Passo also represented the jurisdictional limit of the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade "Luigi Clerici." The last search of the German military column commanded by Captain Hans Fallmeyer was carried out at the bridge after Mussolini was arrested in Dongo.
Getting there
By car with parking before and after.
On foot from the lakeside promenade heading up towards Dascio.