Labelled as Lugano, this dot is in fact nowhere near the lake: it lies about sixty kilometres to the east in the Val Brembana, in the Bergamo Alps, among the villages of Piazzatorre and Branzi. This is the Orobie, a range of steep, grassy mountains and rocky summits rising to nearly three thousand metres that most foreign riders never see, and one of the pleasures of looking at it is that nobody seems to be in a hurry.
The valley's history is bound up with a road. In 1593 the Venetian Republic, which then ruled Bergamo, built the Via Priula up the valley and over the Passo San Marco, a route designed to carry Venetian trade north to the Grisons without passing through Milanese territory. It was named after Alvise Priuli, the official who ordered it, and the stretch near the pass is still used today, with tight bends and stone walls. The pass itself, at 1,992 metres, is a good ride, though narrow and often misty, with long views on a clear day, and it drops into the Valtellina on the far side.
Branzi and Carona are cheese country. The local Formai de Mut, a semi-hard cheese made in the high summer pastures, has protected status and a taste that is sweet and slightly nutty, and many dairies sell it directly. The Brembo river runs clear and cold through the valley, with swimming holes in summer, and the woods of beech and fir are full of mushroom pickers in autumn. Tiny hamlets of stone and timber are clustered on the slopes, many of them half-empty in winter.
Roads in the upper valley are narrow, with limited barriers and frequent hairpins. Cyclists and sheep share the tarmac, and in summer the pastures are dotted with cattle, so expect bells and the odd animal in the road. The best season is June to September, because snow lingers late, and the San Marco pass is closed in winter.
Fuel is more of a problem. The upper valley has few stations, so fill your tank in San Pellegrino Terme or Piazza Brembana before heading up, and carry cash, since small shops and bars may not take cards.