Contessa, so are we there? “I would say yes, but don’t ask me the precise date yet, but I would say in the month of May”. On the other end of the phone there is Camilla Sossnovsky ParraviciniCountess Sossnovsky Parravicini, a personality who does not like the spotlight “don’t post a photo of me because I care about my privacy” and yet it can be said that she invented, with her family, a few decades ago, one of the phenomena that has made her famous today around the world Lake Como and Brianza, events and weddings in villas.
It is difficult to find a person from Como who has not attended at least one wedding or party in the sixteenth-century Villa Parravicino Sossnovsky in Erba or in Villa Revel Parravicini, a residence overlooking the Lario a few meters from Villa Gallia. However, the contact does not concern the phenomenon of wedding planners or all the related activities generated by parties and events (flowers, catering, staff, luxury cars, motorboats…) but rather the Buco del Piombo. Yes, the large natural cave located in the Erba area at almost 700 meters above sea level, closed for 13 years for safety reasons following a landslide that affected the access staircase. The Buco del Piombo is a private site, owned by the Sossnovsky family “and also by the Masciadri family, Roberto Masciadri to be precise, all the land above it is his” the countess is keen to point out.
Forgive a silly question, but what does a noble family like yours do with such a naturalistic site? Of a cave in the Larian Triangle?
Good question, sometimes I ask myself that too, given the investments it requires and the related problems. But it has been in our family since the nineteenth century, they purchased it from the Turati counts. Then, sorry, you don’t call it a cave, we are still talking about a real open-air natural museum.
Sorry again, I didn’t want to belittle the place. I confirm that it is an important location, known with a fame that has gone far beyond the borders of the Lario and Lombardy. The writer also has vivid memories of a visit as a child, holding a wax torch…
Lots of people are linked to the Buco del Piombo, you know? We took direct management not long ago through the Museo Buco del Piombo association, which is headed by the Sossnovsky and Masciardi families. This after issues with the previous custody case, a case that lasted thirty years. I don’t want to go into details, but let’s say that there were those who charged an entrance ticket without having the right to do so. But don’t make me think about it now. The important thing is that now we can visit again. Maybe after a nice walk from Alpe del Vicerè on flat ground in three quarters of an hour. Either from Albavilla, leaving the car in “Zoccolo” in about twenty minutes, or directly from Erba and the Villa Amalia area, you can arrive in an hour following the “Buco del Piombo – Trattoria Alpina” arrows. There are at least two routes, one gentler and one for experts. It is important to always wear clothing suitable for the mountains, especially footwear, especially inside the cave. If we can reopen the cave, however, we must thank good territorial policy. Starting with Alessandro Fermi, regional councilor and the councilor of the Municipality of Erba, Alessio Nava, councilor for Parks in Erba and the engineer Anna Bargna of the Municipality of Erba. I mention the three of them, there would also be others later, but I believe that without the will of these three people the cave would never have opened again.
Really.
It is a difficult site, in the mountains. The safety closure orders were stringent. A lot has been invested and there has also been the political will to give the Erba area back one of its natural attractions. A source of pride for the city. Certainly no one did it for profit. Even with the opening we will be lucky if we will be able to cover the costs, but I believe that the Como area needed to have the Buco del Piombo again, not to mention the restaurants and trattorias in the area that will be able to return to work continuously.
What are your first memories of the cave?
I was a child, then in my adolescence, I always loved the mountains. Then also the last years before the closure. Just think that before the Internet and WhatsApp, visitors came from as far away as Australia. With technology everything is different now, we are already closing agreements with the guides too, the website will also be put back online, which we also continued to pay for even when the Buco del Piombo was closed so that the memory of it would not be lost. We are also defining the details for an opening ceremony with Fermi and Nava.
Do we want to remember the cause of the closure?
During the thaw a boulder had detached from the external wall and fallen onto an access staircase. It was a natural phenomenon, but the ordinance of the then mayor Marcella Tili was triggered and it was truly a great effort to go through the procedure to reopen. If I hadn’t met the right people who were in love with the area I would never have made it. Now, however, we want the Buco del Piombo to no longer close and to become a site for study, as well as tourism from near and far. It’s a commitment that I feel like making, just as every day I commit to maintaining the other family properties, the villas you said. They are assets to be valorised, to be experienced and visited and this is my daily motto. You definitely have to do your part, but you also have to be able to identify the right people to maintain the sites. In recent years even a cave like the Buco del Piombo has risked ending up in absolute degradation.
Are you talking about vandalism or something?
Certain. We had to fix the gate I don’t know how many times, they kept breaking the lock to get in. They tore up the access to the bunker. They come with battery-powered hoses and cut any barrier, even metal. Certainly these are not people who come from far away from Erba and Albavilla, but that’s how it is, degradation attracts degradation, which is also why it needs to be reopened. We also want to resume collaborations with museums and universities. With Lanfredo Castelletti, former head of the Como Museums. He will remember the work of the Buco del Piombo Museum, with the book “Il Buco del Piombo, a Castle in a cave”. I am in contact with the University of Insubria, Department of Science, in particular with professors Alessandro Michetti and Andrea Pozzi, we will bring the schools back to visit the cave, from the little ones to the high schools of Erba, involving the older students in projects of alternating study and work.
In short, only the date is missing, but it seems like we have almost already returned to the Buco del Piombo.
