FAI Autumn Days: the Como area opens never-before-seen places, from the Tavernola shipyard to Val d'Intelvi
On Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11, the 15th national edition opens more than 700 places in 350 cities. In the Como area, only brand-new openings: the Navigazione Laghi shipyard, Palazzo della Rienza, the Fino Mornasco factories and, for the first time, Val d'Intelvi.
Translated from the Italian original. Leggi in italiano
Private palaces, churches, production plants and a shipyard normally closed to the public. On Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11 the Giornate FAI d'Autunno return, the 15th edition of the event with which the Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano opens more than 700 places in about 350 Italian cities, many of them inaccessible or little known. In Lombardy, according to figures released by Adnkronos, there are 117 openings in 48 municipalities. In the Como area the program, curated by the FAI Como Delegation and the FAI Youth Group with high-school students as Apprendisti Ciceroni guides, consists entirely of brand-new openings.
The Tavernola shipyard and Palazzo della Rienza
Among the most unusual openings is the Navigazione Laghi shipyard at Tavernola, where for a century the boats and hydrofoils serving the lake have been maintained and repaired. During the Days, the public can enter the workplace of mechanics and master shipwrights. In Como, in the San Martino district, Palazzo della Rienza will open instead, a private residence that tells the story of the area's transformations: from farmland to industrial district to residential reconversion.
Fino Mornasco and Val d'Intelvi
In Fino Mornasco, the plants of two historic local companies will be open: Tessitura Colombo, which tells the story of the textile tradition that shaped the Como economy, and Visgomma, specializing in rubber components for the railway sector. The plant is among the places selected in the collaboration between FAI and the European Commission and will host a meeting dedicated to the textile art of Mali. The new feature of the 2026 edition is Val d'Intelvi, never involved before: on Saturday October 10 only, churches, oratories and palaces will open between Ramponio, Scaria and Laino, including Casa Bolla, an artist's house normally closed to visitors, and Palazzo Scotti in Laino, with its grand eighteenth-century hall decorated with the Triumph of Apollo.
The FAI properties and how to take part
Over the weekend, Villa del Balbianello in Tremezzina and Villa Fogazzaro Roi in Valsolda, among the properties the FAI manages in the province of Como, will also be open. The 2026 edition pays special attention to craftsmanship and Made in Italy. Visits are by free donation, in support of the Foundation's work. FAI invites visitors to check opening times, meeting points and any booking requirements on the official program in advance, as access arrangements can vary from place to place.