Wandering through the Villages of Capriasca from Bidogno to Dino

(This post was published on August 20th, 2026).

Wednesday May 20th, 2026 -- With the ongoing cold and rainy weather in the North, we once again opted for a trip to the south near Lugano, where the forecast was better, although here with some possibly warm temperatures.

As it turns out, the day wasn't as sunny as expected, but still quite warm. I would have preferred a walk through the forests, but Urs wanted to visit some villages, so we chose a bit of a meandering trail at the entrance of Val Colla in the Capriasca region north of Lugano, starting where we had ended a hike near Roveredo in January 2023, but walking a trail we hadn't done before.

Unfortunately, the day didn't start well for me, as we timed it to arrive late morning when the clouds were supposed to clear, but ended up on an overly warm 30-minute bus ride with very loud school children headed home into the valley for the end of their school day (only half days on Wednesdays). And even though temperature forecast of 21 degrees should have meant a comfortable walk, it definitely felt too hot (we are simply not used to the warm temperatures yet!)

We had originally planned to walk to a town called Cadro, but cut our walk short one town earlier (about 20 minutes left) at the village of Dino. In the end, this was only a 7½-kilometer walk, somewhat short for the long trip there and back.

Leaving somewhat late from home, we are traveling along Lake Uri near Flüelen by 10 a.m. The weather here has lately been cloudy and rainy, and we are hoping for sunny weather in the Ticino near Lugano.

At 11:35 we were in Tesserete at the former railway station to catch the bus into Val Colla. We have started and ended many hikes here in Tesserete.

This is the large church in Tesserete, which we have seen many times, but visited inside in November 2017 before starting a leisurely walk through the villages of this Capriasca Region. (At this point the bus has picked up at least 30 students heading up the same valley we are going to, and they were VERY loud).

Nice properties along the road as the bus makes its way up the Colla Valley (Val Colla).

The bus travels through a village called Campestro. The chapel is called Sant'Andrea.

Passing the fabulous "Casa Don Orione" in Lompagno. (We did pass through the village of Lompagno on our hike out of the valley, and saw this building from below).

By noon we had descended from the bus at the place where we were to start our hike: The "Oratorio della Maestà" at the east end of the village of Bidogno. We had walked past this building on our November 2024 hike from the very back of the valley. This time we started here at about noon.

Last time we were here, the building was locked and we could not look inside, although it is supposed to be quite an impressive work of art. We had hoped that it would now be unlocked for the summer season, but this was not the case. The church was built in 1646, in expansion of a 1608 chapel.

View of the Capriasca Region from the site of the Oratorio. The peaks at the back are famously known as the "Denti della Vecchia" ("Teeth of the Old Woman"). We did walk that crest in May 2015, and it would be time to do it again (we did'nt have great visibility at the time).

Heading down into the village of Bidogno now, this is a look back up the cobblestone trail to the Oratorio building.

Starting at noon at the Oratorio on the north side of the village of Bidogno, we walked through Treggia, Oggio, Lopagno and Cagiallo, ending our 8-km walk in Dino for the 15:38 bus to Lugano. (We were going to go one village further, but it got hot and somewhat muggy).

Walking down the historic "Stations of the Cross" path to the village of Bidogno. There are 14 shrines along the path. (Information HERE.) The road and shrines received extensive renovations in 1909 and 2001.

Alleyways in Bidogno. Typical village for this region.

Everything is so pretty.

We then reached the main parish church of St.Barnabas (Chiesa di S. Barnaba). This is another view of the "Denti della Vecchia" peaks from above the cemetery.

We then came to the parish church of San Barnaba, which I had visited once before at the end of our November 2024 hike, while Urs waited at the bus stop along the main road higher up. It was definitely worth another visit.

The interior of this church is a tasteful and intricate work of art.

So many intricate details to admire. All the stucco work is simply astounding.

Lots of beautiful details.

In particular I simply love beautiful and artistic ceilings.

The parish church "Chiesa di S.Barnaba" in Bidogno was built in the 16th Century at the site of an older chapel. On our November 2024 hike out of the Val Colla (having started at the very back and ended here), I took a detour to have a look at this beautiful church, but Urs just stayed at the bus stop. So this was his first time inside.

We then had to walk along the main road toward Roveredo, with views like this to the south. This was just before the village of Treggia.

At Roveredo, we can actually see all the way to Lake Lugano and Monte San Salvatore, and the city of Lugano to the south. At this point the sky is still overcast (we were hoping it would have cleared up by noon) which makes it feel a bit muggier than full sunshine.

At first we had thought about detouring to the church in Roveredo (where we had both started and ended previous hikes) but decided to descend to the next village of Oggio and see about a nice bench there to have our picnic lunch.

Coming down from above on the little village called Oggio.

Down a long flight of stone steps we reach the square in front of the church. A perfect bench for our late lunch break, but the other fellow was smoking. (But he left soon). It's now already 1:15 p.m.!

The small village church in Oggio. The door was unlocked, so we had a look inside, as is our habit.

Inside of the small village church in Oggio.

We then continued along a quiet paved road toward the next village of Lopagno, with lots of flowers and colour and green along the way. The sky has cleared now, and even with the sun, it feels less hot than before.

Above us is the villa we passed on the way up the valley with the bus. It is called "Casa Don Orione". (This is the administrative building for the "San Gottardo Foundation").

It's the time of year for full bloom of roses! It was really beautiful, roses everywhere.

In Lopagno, we did a detour to that village church, but it was locked.

Heading down to our next village called Cagiallo, we could have taken an alternate trail past this rather old-looking church further down the hill (it is called San Matteo and rebuilt in 1672) with the original Romanesque tower typical of this region. But right then a local man passed us, who gives tours in such churches, and he told us it was not accessible to the public. So I just took a photo and we continued on the regular trail, which saved us walking on paved roads.

Up ahead is the village of Cagiallo, which we had visited once before on our other "meandering" through the villages of the Capriasca in November 2017.

Down below us is one of those new-fangeled "overnight-in-an-outdoor-dome" which we have seen a few times in our travels. It is relatively expensive to spend a night there. (About $300 per night).

Everywhere were blooming rose bushes, so very pretty!

At 2:25 p.m. we got to the village of Cagiallo. The village was first mentioned in documents of the 13th Century.

The "Oratorio di Santa Lucia", first mentioned in documents of 1606, was unfortunately also locked, and we could not get a good look inside through the windows.

Short walk around the alleys of Cagiallo, a village we had also visited on the November 2017 hike in the Capriasca Region.

Taking into account the Daylight Saving Time, this sun-dial is pretty accurate, as it is now 14:22. (The shadow shows about 13:30)

Our next goal is the town of Dino, 45 minutes from here through meadows, forests, and a small ravine. (From there we had originally planned an extra 20 minutes to walk to the next town called Cadro, but it was along a paved main road, and by the time we got to Dino, we had had enough of looking through villages.)

Another view of the "Denti della Vecchia" mountains.

The final buildings in a small hamlet called Sarone, before we descend into the little ravine.

The bridge we had to cross is called "Ponte di Spada", as the valley is called "Valle de Spada". The river below is the Cassarate which has its source at the far back of Val Colla and ultimately flows into Lake Lugano to the south.

After leaving the ravine, we had another kilometer to walk to the next village called Dino, mostly along this country road. It wasn't too bad, but it was starting to get quite warm!

View to the northwest to the summit of Monte Tamaro at the far back.

A different angle view now of the "Denti della Vecchia". Very noticeable is the large scar on the flank of the mountain, created by a rock slide in mid-May 2025, when 80 tons of rock came crashing down (50,000 cubic meters).

The first thing we did when we got to Dino was to head up the town's church. It is called "Chiesa di San Nazario" which has its origins in the 11th Century, but has undergone major changes since then, including restorations in 1971. As usual, only the bell tower is still original.

Intricate fresco paintings in a side room near the entrance of the church.

This time we were lucky and the building was open. There was a lot to look at inside.

The painting in the side room with the stone "caskets" was particularly interesting, as was the large fresco painting on the inside wall. We are always happy to experience these frescoes, as they really bring home the age and history of the region.

At the very corner of the property is a family mausoleum. The inscription reads "Famiglia Giacomo Lepori".

At 15:20 we then made our way back down through the alleyways of the town, headed back to the main road for the 15:38 bus back to Lugano. (Ultimately a 2½-hour trip back home).