Strada Regina (Lake Como)

The SS340 follows the line of the old Via Regina up the west shore of Lake Como, from Cernobbio past Argegno, Isola Comacina and the villas of Tremezzina to Menaggio, slow through narrow villages but rarely steep.

From the junction at Cernobbio the SS340 passes the town in a tunnel of about 2.4 km, then follows a late 1960s variant cut along the hillside above Moltrasio to Torriggia in Laglio, with few junctions and limits of 50 to 70 km/h. Beyond Laglio it bypasses Brienno in a second tunnel and reaches Argegno, where the Val d’Intelvi road leaves for Porlezza. The stretch on to Colonno is protected by rockfall barriers, and from Colonno through Sala Comacina, opposite Isola Comacina, and the villages of Tremezzina to Griante the road squeezes through every village, with traffic lights that let buses and lorries through one direction at a time. A bypass, mostly in tunnel, is being built behind these villages from Colonno to Griante, so expect works near both ends. Past Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo and Cadenabbia the road reaches Menaggio, where the SS340 turns inland for Porlezza and Lake Lugano and the SS340dir carries on up the shore. Speeds are low, with blind corners and local buses that need the whole road, but the curves are gentle and the gradients slight.