Loop hike of Boletto and Bolettone

Starting from Alpe del Vicerè, a beautiful location at 900 meters above sea level, a popular Sunday destination for many families from Brianza, you can embark on a lovely loop through the forests of these mountains and along the scenic ridge of Monti Boletto and Bolettone. From their names, it's immediately clear that they belong to the same mountain ridge, and that Bolettone (1317 meters), proud of the augmentative that characterizes its name, extends a bit higher than its younger sibling, Boletto (1236 meters).

The itinerary begins from the eastern edge of Alpe del Vicerè; following the signs for Boletto and Baita Patrizi, we take a beautiful trail, wide and gently descending. In about 30 minutes, we reach the clearing that hosts Baita Patrizi (or Rifugio Brigata Patrizi, 986 m, 30 minutes).

Continuing uphill, we pay attention to the well-marked deviations; the vegetation gradually becomes sparse, first presenting us with a bright birch forest, then expansive sun-drenched meadows that allow us to extend our view over the Po Valley behind us. Accompanied by the grassy slopes of Bolettone to the right and Boletto to the left, we arrive at Bocchetta di Molina (1116 m, 30 minutes), where we finally catch a glimpse of Lake Como.

Turning left, we ascend the grassy ridge, bordered on the right by the woods covering its northern slope. After a pleasant thirty-minute walk, we reach the broad summit of Monte Boletto (1236 m, 30 minutes). The panorama opens up here to much of the Como branch and the Po Valley.

Now, the bigger brother awaits us, Monte Bolettone, a pleasant and panoramic ascent: we simply follow the grassy ridge in the opposite direction, first descending to Bocchetta di Molina, then climbing steadily to the summit cross of Bolettone (1317 m, 1 hour).

For the descent from Bolettone, we can take the dirt road serving the refuge. We descend with a couple of hairpin turns through the scenic grassy slopes of the mountain, then delve into the woods only to emerge near Alpe del Vicerè (903 m, 45 minutes), where we retrieve the car.