Ravella, Brook in Castelmarte, Italy

Ravella is a small brook that runs through Castelmarte in the Como province, carving a gentle path through the terrain. The waterway winds through green countryside and creates a natural feature in the local landscape.

The name Ravella may come from rapa or rava, meaning landslide, itself from grava, a Celtic word for gravel. In 1936 heavy rain made the stream overflow at several points, destroying the three bridges on the road to the sanctuary of San Miro and a villa on its right bank at Gajum. Francesco Cherubini placed the northern border of Brianza at Val Ravella and Valmadrera.

The name Ravella may come from rapa or rava, meaning landslide, itself from grava, a Celtic word for gravel. The stream crosses Canzo before entering the Lambro near the Castelmarte hamlet that shares its name. A tributary joins it below the Hermitage of San Miro, and another enters at the spot Canzo residents call Cuntrada da San Mirètt.

The Giorgio Achermann geological and naturalistic trail runs up the Val Ravella from Canzo, passes the San Miro hermitage and continues on the right bank to Terza Alpe, just below the springs. The upper stretch lies in the Sasso Malascarpa reserve and the Corni di Canzo forest; the ERSAF teaching museum at Prim'alpe documents the area's fauna, geology and botany.

Along the Giorgio Achermann geological trail in Val Ravella lie erratic boulders carried by the glacier during the last glaciation, including large greenish blocks of serpentinite and serizzo. The valley's left side is dominated by the Ceppo dell'Angua, called Scalfin del diavul in dialect, made of subvertical banks of Conchodon dolomite.