Musso is a small town in the Province of Como

Province of Como

The Province of Como is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Lecco to the East, the Province of Milan to the south and the Province of Varese to the West...

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

. It lies on the western shore of the northern branch of Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

 about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of the city of Como

Como

Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....

. The comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of Musso, which includes the town itself and the surrounding area of lake and mountainside, extends over an area of 412 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s, with a minimum elevation of 199 metres and a maximum of 1,325 and has a population of 1020. It borders the communes of Dongo to the north, Pianello del Lario

Pianello del Lario

Pianello del Lario is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km north of Milan and about 35 km northeast of Como...

 to the south and Colico

Colico

Colico is a comune in the province of Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. It is situated near the tip of the northern arm of Lake Como, where the river Adda enters the lake...

 across the lake in the Province of Lecco

Province of Lecco

The Province of Lecco is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco.On 1 January 2001 the province had a population of 311,452 on a surface of 816 km² divided in 90 communes...

.

The commune is a member of the Comunità Montana Alto Lario Occidentale.

Main sights

The castle, which dates back to the fourteenth century, was the power-base of Gian Giacomo Medici (‘il Medeghino’), brother of Pope Pius IV, and variously known as “pirate, king, brigand, traitor, rebel, assassin and hero”. During the years 1522 to 1532 he acquired control over much of the lake and parts of Brianza

Brianza

thumb|250px|The [[Corni di Canzo]].Brianza is a geographical area at the foot of the Alps, in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy.-Geography:...

. He was finally defeated by the combined forces of the Duke of Milan Francesco II Sforza

Francesco II Sforza

Francesco II Sforza , also known as Francesco Maria Sforza, was the last Duke of Milan from 1521 until his death.He was the son of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este...

, the Swiss Confederacy and the Grisons.