Route description for Autumn 2022. Northern Italian lakes.

Lago di Lugano or Lago Ceresio (Luganersee) is one of the northern Italian lakes and is 63% in the Swiss canton of Ticino and 37% in Italian territory. Its surface is 271 meters above sea level and covers 48.8 square kilometers. Its deepest point is 288 meters and its volume is 5.9 cubic kilometers. The most important tributary is the Vedeggio with 4 cubic meters/second. Its shape is explained by its formation after the Ice Age in an area where two glaciers met. The artificial sea dam of Melide divides the lake into a north and south basin, plus the small basin called Laghetto of Ponte Tresa. Some foothills of the lake reach into Italy, and the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia, known for its casino, is located on its shore, which leads to a complicated borderline. South of Lugano, the A2 motorway and the Gotthard railway cross the lake on the Melide dam. Well-known panoramic mountains on the shore are Monte Brè (925 meters above sea level) in the east, Monte San Salvatore (912 meters above sea level) in the west of Lugano and Monte Generoso (1,701 meters above sea level) on the south-eastern shore. Between the two southern arms lies the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Monte San Giorgio (1,097 meters above sea level). Since the lake is in a Mediterranean climate due to its location at the southern tip of Switzerland, it is a popular tourist destination. Various German composers have retired around the lake, such as Michael Jary, Martin Böttcher and Peter Thomas. The writer Hermann Hesse lived in Montagnola near Lugano from the age of 42 until his death. In his honor there has been a museum dedicated to him since 1997 in the old Torre Camuzzi. Wikipedia.

Campsite and Ristorante Stazione.

After returning from the bike tour, I first walk over the campsite (1-3) that I have grown fond of over the years, directly on Lago di Lugano and the massive Monte Generoso (4-5) in the back, slightly shrouded in autumn fog. Now in the evening the camping site fills up more and more and I find out from the operator that they are fully booked. We have been here many times and at all times, but we have not yet experienced full occupancy. At the end of the season you can feel that camping is booming. I then walk the ten minutes to the Maroggia-Melano train station to the Ristorante Stazione there (6-8) and its good plain Italian cuisine. I sit down in the small garden and order stufato di cervo (deer stew) to match the autumn mood. But now in October it is getting dark quickly and after returning to the camp I just catch one last beautiful view of the lake from the pitch (9).

Monte Generoso at Wikipedia.

At 1,701 meters above sea level, Monte Generoso or Calvagione is a Swiss -Italian border mountain on the southern edge of the Alps . He belongs to the Generoso Intelvi group, which is part of the Tambo group . The mountain is located on the eastern shore of Lake Lugano between Lugano and Chiasso and on the western shore of Lake Como. The border between Italy and Switzerland runs over the east ridge and the north ridge. The southern and western flanks belong to Switzerland, the north-eastern side to Italy. The Monte Generoso is a panoramic mountain that, on a clear day, offers an overview of the entire Alpine arc from the Maritime Alps to the Piz Bernina. Since 1890, the Ferrovia Monte Generoso rack railway has been running from Capolago to just below its summit in the summer months from April to October. Generoso-Vetta, the mountain station, is 1,605 meters above sea level right on the national border. The train is the only “typically Swiss” rack railway south of the Alps. In 1940 there was a financial threat of the cessation of railway operations. Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler campaigned vehemently for the preservation of the rack railway. Migros then took over the railway company. The Monte Generoso belongs geologically to the southern Alps and has a diverse flora. The first Hotel Monte Generoso Bellavista was opened in 1867. From 1897 to 1901, the German Nobel Prize winner for literature, Gerhart Hauptmann, spent a few spring weeks in nearby Rovio every year. These stays inspired him to write his novella The Heretic of Soana, published in 1918, in which he also refers to Monte Generoso. The Hotel-Restaurant Vetta, built in 1970, was closed in October 2010 for safety reasons as the ground had moved and cracks had appeared. In 2017, the new restaurant Fiore di pietra (stone flower) by Ticino architect Mario Botta was inaugurated.

Lake cruise on the MS Lugano.

After a good lunch I board the motor ship Lugano (born 1961) at two o'clock and sit down in a corner outside on the upper deck and simply enjoy the wonderful boat trip (1-15) to Paradiso, Gandria, Cambione, Melide, Brusino, Morcorte and passing the impressive mountains of Bré, San Salvatore, San Giorgo and Generoso. The long lake tour in the afternoon has been offered by the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano for years. We have actually booked them every time we have visited Lugano. She is simply unique.

Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano at Wikipedia.

Art on Alpe Foppa on Monte Tamaro.

It's Saturday, October 8th and beautiful autumn weather with 23 degrees during the day. In the evening it begins to rain. Since I have to change places at the campsite, I decide to drive the 60 kilometers back and forth to Riviera in the mobile home. In Riviera, around ten o'clock, I climb the gondola to Alpe Foppa (1) below Monte Tamaro. At the Cappella di Santa Maria degli Angeli (2-3) there are wonderful panoramas. After a café in the restaurant, I go on the half-hour tour Percoso della Salute (6), which circles Alpe Foppa, allows for more beautiful views and, among other things, leads past some interesting sculptures by local artists (7-15). Shortly after noon I drive back to the camp and in the afternoon I take the S-Bahn to Lugano again for shopping and an aperitif on the Piazza della Riforma.

Monte Tamaro at Wikipedia.

At 1,960 meters above sea level, Monte Tamaro is a mountain in the Swiss canton of Ticino above the town of Rivera. On La Manèra (1,858 meters), the eastern secondary summit of Monte Tamaro, there is a large Swisscom radio relay station. Parts of the connections from Ticino are transmitted via them to German-speaking Switzerland. The Cappella di Santa Maria degli Angeli, designed by Ticino architect Mario Botta from 1990 and built between 1992 and 1994, on Alpe Foppa at 1,567 meters above sea level made the place well-known nationwide. The chapel , inaugurated in 1996 and decorated with paintings by Enzo Cucchi , can be reached by cable car . On the Alpe Foppa there is a summer toboggan run, a zip line, a restaurant, a children's playground, various hikes and a mountain bike course at the mountain station of the cable car on the north-eastern slope of the mountain. The Monte Tamaro rope park is located at the middle station. The 2003 Mountain Bike World Championships took place on the slopes of Monte Tamaro. A hiking route leads from Monte Tamaro in about 4½ hours over several other peaks to Monte Lema. In good weather, the view extends to the Monte Rosa massif and the Matterhorn. This makes the summit of Monte Tamaro one of the few vantage points that allow a simultaneous view of the lowest point (Lake Maggiore) and the highest point (Dufourspitze) in Switzerland.

The Lago di Garda (Lake Garda), one of the northern Italian lakes , is the largest lake in Italy , named after the municipality of Garda on the eastern shore. Its ancient name was Lacus benacus in 200 BC. The name is said to derive from an ancient deity named Benacus . Lake Garda was formed during the last Ice Age by a side branch of the Adige Glacier , traces of which can still be traced, particularly through terminal moraines on the southern shore. The first settlements on the lake shore date back to around 2,000 BC. Lake Garda lies between the Alps to the north and the Po Valley to the south, and is therefore an Alpine edge lake . The north of the lake belongs to the region Trentino-Alto Adige , the west to Lombardy and the east to Veneto . Thus the three provinces share Trento (North), Verona (East) and Brescia (West) administration. Numerous pile dwelling settlements date from the Bronze Age , which were built directly on the lake shore or in the immediate hinterland of Lake Garda and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011 . The battle of Lacus Benacus took place on its banks in 268 between the Alamanni and the Romans under Emperors Claudius Gothicus delivered. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the lake fell under the Scaligeri sphere of influence , who built numerous castles , particularly on the eastern and southern shore towns ( Malcesine , Torri del Benaco , Lazise and Sirmione ). In the fifteenth century, the lake and its shore towns became the scene of the struggle for supremacy in northern Italy between the Duchy of Milan under the Visconti and the Republic of Venice . With the border on the Adda river laid down in the Peace of Lodi in 1454 , Lake Garda finally fell under the sphere of influence of the Doge's Republic. The latter, in particular, expanded Peschiera into a fortress on the strategically important outflow of the Mincio , which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2017 . During the War of the Spanish Succession at the beginning of the eighteenth century, General Vendôme tried to push his troops north along the north bank, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. In the process, numerous castles were destroyed by the French, such as Castel Penede in Nago , the Castle of Arco or Castel Drena , which survive as ruins. In 1706, Vendôme defeated the imperial troops at the Battle of Calcinato on the southern shore of the lake. The Battle of Rivoli was a key success for the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaign over a numerically superior Habsburg army. Due to the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805, with which Tyrol fell to Bavaria, the northern tip of the lake now belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria . After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the entire lake fell to the Austrian Empire and was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia . The Battle of Solferino in the Sardinian War between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia was crucial to the unification of Italy in 1859. The ferocity of the battle prompted Henry Dunant to found the Red Cross and led to the agreement of the 1864 Geneva Convention . After the loss of Lombardy In 1859, after the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866, Austria also lost the eastern shore with Venetia , only the northern tip, with Riva del Garda, remained with Austria-Hungary until 1918 . During the First World War , the front ran directly along the north shore of the lake, where numerous fortifications had been built. After Mussolini's fall in 1943, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (Republic of Salò ) was installed under Mussolini 's leadership as a counter-government at German demand from September 23, 1943 to April 25, 1945 . On April 30, 1945, World War II ended on Lake Garda with the liberation of Torbole and Riva by the 10th US Mountain Division . Wikipedia.

By bike to Garda.

It's Monday, October 10th, 2022. It's going to be another beautiful autumn day with lots of sun and 22 degrees. Today I'm visiting the towns of Garda and Bardolino, which are a good ten and seven kilometers north of Lazise on Lake Garda. The ride is largely flat and pleasant to ride on the narrow road along the lake, even if there are no separate cycle paths. I arrive in Garda around eleven o'clock and take a leisurely stroll along the promenade and through the alleys of the pretty fishing village (1-12). In the Osteria al Porto (13-15) on the lake promenade there is first spaghetti vongole and then an excellent gratinata di frutti di mare. 

Garda at Wikipedia.

Garda is a northern Italian municipality with 4'111 inhabitants in the province of Verona on the western edge of the Veneto region . Garda is located on the eastern shore and is the namesake of Lake Garda . In and around the town there is lush, almost Mediterranean vegetation. Therefore, it is a popular tourist destination. Garda is characterized by the lake promenade and the small harbor with the "Palazzo dei Capitani" from Venetian times. The headland of Punta San Vigilio juts out into the lake near Garda . For the philosopher Agostino di Brenzone it was the "most beautiful place in the world". Remains of pile dwellings are evidence of a very early settlement. It is a fact that the Gothic king Theodoric had a castle built on a rocky plateau, Rocca di Garda, high above the town in the fifth century. For a long time it was considered impregnable - even Emperor Barbarossa was unable to capture it. Five centuries later, the Lombard prince Berengar II ruled here until he was defeated by King Otto the Great and imprisoned for life in Bamberg . The castle was destroyed by the Venetians in the sixteenth century. From 1904 until it was finally closed in 1956, the town had a station on the Verona–Caprino/Garda railway . Due to its long history, Garda has a very distinctive character, which is particularly evident in its small but attractive old town and the beautiful promenade, the southern extension of which extends to Bardolino, but on the outskirts it resembles many other settlements on the shore that are shaped by tourism of Lake Garda. In this respect, the old town with the lake promenade is a sight in itself. You can see: Palazzo dei Capitani (“Palace of the Captains”) from the fourteenth century; Villa degli Albertini from the sixteenth century, Villa Canossa from the eighteenth century; the churches of Santa Maria Maggiore and the parish church of Garda from the tenth century, the church of Saint Stephen from the seventeenth century, the church of the Assumption from the eighteenth century and the hermitage of the Camaldolese from the fifteenth century.

Stop in Bardolino on the way back.

After an excellent lunch I drive back along the Seestrasse towards Lazise. On the way I visit another fishing village Bardolino. Here, too, I walk along the lake promenade and through the streets of the old town (1-14). Then another café americano before I start the further way back to the camp in Lazise. The day in the two small towns was a beautiful experience and left me with impressive images. In the evening there is a Moretti in the camp 's lakeside bistro (14-15).

Bardolino at Wikipedia.

Bardolino is an Italian municipality on Lake Garda in the province of Verona in the north-eastern Italian region of Veneto with 7,207 inhabitants. Bardolino is on the east side of the lake, north of Lazise and south of Garda . Bardolino has two million tourists a year and is the 24th tourist destination in Italy. The place is the seat of the municipality, which also includes the hamlets of Cisano and Calmasino . Cisano is located directly on the Gardesana orientale quay . The center of Bardolino can be reached on foot in 20 minutes along the promenade. Worth seeing in Cisano is the small church of St. Julian from the eighth century. The Middle Franconian community of Rednitzhembach in the district of Roth is a partner community of Bardolino. Wine festivals with winegrowers from the other region take place in both Bardolino and Rednitzhembach. Bardolino is the center of a well-known wine region of the same name . The red Bardolino and the rosé called "Chiaretto" are very popular. Like the surrounding area, the place is a popular tourist destination . You can see seven churches, a Camaldolese monastery, a wine, an olive and a bird museum.

With the bike for a stroll through the town of Peschiera.

It's Tuesday, October 11, 2022. The weather is holding up, it's still autumnally nice at 22 degrees. Today I cycle south along the lake to the port of Peschiera del Garda. There is a special cycle path almost all the way. On a long walk I get to know a city (1-12) with an interesting history, an impressive harbor with fortifications and beautiful squares and old town streets. In culinary terms, I chose the Ristorante Gistrot (13-14) on the Piazza Ferdinando di Savoia, which is good. I am spoiled with Insalate Greca and a Trota con verdure al vapore . There is also a glass of excellent Soave. With great impressions I drive back to Lazise and take another walk from the camp to the promenade in Lazise (15).

Peschiera del Garda on Wikipedia.

Peschiera del Garda is an Italian commune of 10,930 inhabitants in the province of Verona in the Veneto region . Since 2017 the Fortress of Peschiera del Garda is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site, on the transnational series Venetian Defense Systems of the Sixteenth-Seventeenth Centuries . Peschiera del Garda is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Garda at the point where the Mincio , Lake Garda's only outlet, leaves the lake. Parts of the old town with their fortifications separate the town from the mainland. The town has a small marina , a train station and is home to the Italian army . For several years, Peschiera has been promoting itself as a barrier-free city. All shops can also be reached by wheelchair users via a ramp . Although they often lack the optimal slope, they are still a great relief for wheelchair users. The earliest settlement of Peschiera goes back to the Bronze Age . Two settlements on stilt houses on Lago di Frassino and on the shores of Lake Garda date from this period. They were excavated in the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth and are attributed to the Peschiera period. The stilt houses of Peschiera have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011 . In Roman times, the place was noted under the name Arilica, in the Gallia cisalpina , to be read as Ariolica in the Peutinger tablet. Probably between the eighth and ninth centuries the place took the current name of Peschiera. In 899 Peschiera captured Berengar I on the Brenta River after his defeat by the Hungarians invading northern Italy . During the seignory , the town first fell under the control of the Ezzelino family. After the defeat of Ezzelinos III. In 1259 in the Battle of Cassano d'Adda and the subsequent decline of the House of Ezzelino, Peschiera fell to Mastino I della Scala in 1260 . The Scaligeri rule lasted until the end of the fourteenth century, when Peschiera fell to Gian Galeazzo Visconti . Finally, in 1440, the Republic of Venice , under its Condottiere Francesco I Sforza take the place. Venice built Peschiera into a fortress between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. After the Congress of Vienna , Peschiera became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia and formed the so-called fortified quadrangle with the towns of Mantua , Verona and Legnago . Piedmontese troops took Peschiera in 1848 during the First Italian War of Independence . But it was only after the Third Italian War of Independence of 1866 that Peschiera became part of the newly established Kingdom . Sights include the historic town center with the fortress wall and excavations from Roman times.

Lago d'Iseo or Sebino (Lake Iseo) is the fourth largest of the northern Italian lakes . It is located in the Lombardy provinces of Brescia and Bergamo . The lake is located northwest of Brescia , at the foot of the Bergamasque Alps and the Adamello-Presanella Alps . The lake basin was hollowed out by the glacial glaciers of the Valcamonica valley. The river Oglio feeds the lake. The 65 square kilometer lake is 181 meters above sea level , is 25 kilometers long and up to 251 meters deep. In the lake are the islands of Monte Isola (“island mountain”), the largest in southern European inland waters , as well as Isola di Loreto and Isola di San Paolo . The latter is owned by the Beretta arms manufacturing dynasty . You can drive around the lake completely, despite the many rock faces that drop steeply down to the water. The road is carved out of the rock in many places. The towns of Lovere , Marone , Pisogne , Sulzano , Iseo , Paratico , Sarnico and Riva di Solto are on the shore . Due to favorable fall winds, the lake has developed into a paradise for sailing sports . A good tourism infrastructure has developed on the few bathing beaches , but Lake Iseo is far less frequented than Lake Como or Lake Garda . The Franciacorta wine-growing region begins immediately south of the lake . In 2016, artist Christo opened his artwork The Floating Piers in the middle of the lake . With this installation it was possible to walk from Sulzano to the island of Monte Isola and from there to the island of San Paolo via 16-metre-wide footbridges floating in the water. The work of art was accessible for almost a month and was then dismantled and recycled. Wikipedia.

Nice pitch and sunset.

I continue the stroll through the streets (1-9) in Iseo, also visit the two churches and drink a cappuccino by the lake. Then I drive back to the camp and sit down on my beautiful pitch (10-15) directly at the lake. Time flies by as dusk falls and the sun sets in a blaze of color.

With the bike to the island.

It's Thursday, October 13, 2022. And again it's going to be a beautiful autumn day with lots of sun and 21 degrees. Today I'm visiting Monte Isola, a popular attraction on Lago d'Iseo. Via Covelo (1-2) I cycle along the lake to Sulzano (3-4). There I board the small ferry (5) that takes me to the island of Peschiera Maraglio (6-8) and there to a café americano in the Caffe del Porto. I now cycle around the island clockwise, past Isola San Paolo (9), up to Torre Rocca Martinengo (10) and further up to the mountain village of Siviano (11-13), where there is a mountain village in the Albergo Bellavista second stop. Shortly thereafter I reach the northern end of the island with views of the northern part of Lago d'Iseo (14-15) with the Castello dell'Isola di Loreto .

Monte Isola at Wikipedia.

Monte Isola is the largest island in a southern European lake. It has a circumference of nine kilometers and rises more than 400 meters above the water surface of Lake Iseo in the Italian region of Lombardy. At the top of the hill is the Santuario della Madonna della Ceriola church. Monte Isola is a member of the association I borghi più belli d'Italia (The most beautiful places in Italy). The 1811 inhabitants are spread over four larger and five smaller villages, which are administered by the municipality of Monte Isola and which also includes the two small side islands Isola di Loreto (to the north) and Isola di San Paolo (to the south). The largest village is Siviano with 425 inhabitants, also the administrative center of the municipality of Monte Isola. There is a bus line on the island, residents are allowed to use mopeds and scooters. Cars and trucks are only allowed in exceptional cases. Tourists are only allowed to explore the island without a motor or by bus. There are continuous ferry connections between Peschiera Maraglio and Sulzano and between Carzano and Sale Marasino. These are also operated throughout the night. Furthermore, all liners go to destinations on the island, so that there are also boat connections in Sensole and Siviano about every hour during the day. The liners operate between Iseo, Sulzano and the island towns throughout the year from early morning until late at night. Most tourism can be found in Peschiera Maraglio on the southeast side of the inland island. In Carzano on the east side of the island there is still an old village structure with narrow streets and paths that has been renovated and maintained in an exemplary manner. The Santa Croce festival is celebrated in Carzano every five years in September. The whole place is then decorated with over 100,000 deceptively real paper flowers. The festival dates back to the Middle Ages, when the plague was widespread throughout the region. A gypsy woman brought her sick son to Carzano, and he was nursed back to health there. In gratitude, the gypsy donated a sea of flowers. The festival is one of the attractions of northern Italy and is attended by countless people, especially at weekends. In June 2016, artist Christo opened his artwork The Floating Piers . With this installation it was possible to walk from Sulzano to the island at Peschiera Maraglio via 16 meter wide footbridges floating in the water. The work of art was accessible for just under a month and was then dismantled and recycled.

By bike from the island back to Iseo.

From the north side of the island it goes steeply downhill to the next fishing village of Cazano (1-6) with its romantic streets and a church with paintings worth seeing. Today's rather lonely path (7-11) continues past promenades and villages back to Peschiera Maraglio (12) and to the ferry to Sulzano. Since there is still time, I drive past the camp again to Iseo (13) and enjoy the panoramic view (14) over the lake with a good Italian ice cream cone, of course Pistachio/Stracciatella. Back in the camp, I see on the notice that today in the camp's Ristorante there is a special Stufato di Manzo con Polenta (15) are. Although not planned, I won't miss it.

Lake Maggiore , also known as Lago Verbano ( Langensee in Switzerland) , is a northern Italian lake in the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and in the Swiss canton of Ticino, through which the Ticino (Ticino) flows. Lake Maggiore is narrow, curved and branched, and flows through it from north to south. It covers an area of 212.5 square kilometers, of which 20% belongs to Switzerland and 80% to Italy. It extends from the southern chain of the Alps to the western edge of the Po Valley. Like the other northern Italian lakes, it was created when ice age glaciers melted. Especially its northern part is surrounded by high mountains. The lake is 65 kilometers long and up to 10 kilometers wide. It is the second largest lake in Italy after Lake Garda. The lake level is 193 meters above sea level, making it the lowest point in Switzerland. The greatest depth is 372 meters. The bottom of the lake reaches up to 179 meters below sea level. The catchment area is 6386 square kilometers (3,326 square kilometers in Switzerland and 3,060 square kilometers in Italy). Several professional fishermen make their living from fishing in Lake Maggiore. The total yield is 150 tons per year. There has been passenger shipping on the lake since 1826. In 1852 it was taken over by Österreichischer Lloyd and reorganized. Today, the Italian state-owned company Gestione governativa navigazione laghi based in Milan operates a fleet of 25 ships with the Navigazione del Lago Maggiore (NLM), including the still operational paddle steamer Piemonte. Local shipping on Swiss territory has been managed by the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano since 2018. The main inflow and outflow Ticino flows into the lake at Magadino. The estuary, the Bolle di Magadino, (literally: bubble ...) is a species-rich nature reserve. The Maggia flows further west. It constantly brings debris with it, so that today the Maggia Delta extends far into the lake. East of the delta is Locarno, which is best known for its film festival and the pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sasso, and on the west side Ascona with its lake promenade and Monte Verità. In the hinterland, the valley divides at Ponte Brolla into the Centovalli on the left and the Maggia Valley on the right. In the north, the Verzasca flows into the lake, known above all for a bridge, the Ponte dei Salti, and the 220 m high dam. However, the hydrologically most important tributary of the lake is the Toce, since on average it brings slightly more water into the lake than the Ticino. However, the natural water volumes of these rivers have been regulated by human hands for decades due to numerous water discharges for electricity generation. The largest city on the lake is Verbania with its districts of Intra and Pallanza. Don't miss the Villa Taranto Botanical Gardens, a gift to Italy from its founder, Captain Neil Mac Eacharn. Thousands of plants imported from all over the world, as well as rare botanical collections, some of which are unique in Europe, can be studied here. South of Verbania, the lake widens into the Gulf of Verbania, where the Toce flows into the lake. Stresa is located on the Gulf and, with its Belle Epoque villas and hotel palaces, still exudes the charm of a sophisticated posh resort. In Stresa is the Villa Pallavicino with its park and a zoological garden. Centuries-old trees and many wild animal species can be seen there. Further south is the town of Arona. Two kilometers north of Arona, a 23-meter-tall copper colossal statue of Charles Borromeo was erected in 1624, which was the tallest statue that could be walked inside until the Statue of Liberty was built in New York. South of the lake near Sesto Calende is a protected wetland area. On the east side of the lake is the town of Angera with the medieval castle Rocca di Angera, the monastery of Santa Caterina del Sasso built into the steep cliffs and the town of Luino with its well-known weekly market.

By bike to Stresa for a stroll through the city.

It's Saturday, October 15, 2022. It's going to be another beautiful autumn day and the sun is breaking through the haze more than yesterday at 20 degrees. Today I am cycling 11 kilometers north along Lake Maggiore from Solcio via Lesa to Stresa. The Seestrasse is easy to cycle on, although there is no cycle path and the road is sometimes narrow and heavily trafficked. My first stop and walk is to the fishing village of Lesa (1-5). On the promenade there is again a café americano. Then it's on to Stresa to its northern end with the best view of the Borromean Islands (6-14). Continue on foot along the park along the lake promenade (15) back towards the center.

Stresa at Wikipedia.

Stresa is a municipality and a spa town in the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and is located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in the Piedmont region. Stresa is 200 meters above sea level and covers an area of 33 square kilometers. The Frazioni (suburbs or islands in the lake) of Stresa are Brisino, Isola Bella (see also Borromean Islands), Isola dei Pescatori, La Sacca, Levo, Lido and Mottarone. All the Borromean Islands, except Isolino di San Giovanni, belong to the Municipality of Stresa. The neighboring communes are Baveno, Belgirate, Brovello-Carpugnino, Gignese, Gravellona Toce, Laveno-Mombello, Leggiuno, Lesa, Omegna and Verbania. Not far from Stresa is the 1,491 meter high Mottarone mountain. In Roman times, the consular road Severiana Augusta led from Stresa, connecting Mediolanum (today's Milan) to Verbannus Lacus (Lake Maggiore), and from here to the Simplon Pass. The first historical source that mentions the existence of Stresa is a parchment from 998 in which the place is called Strixia, a form confirmed by a source from 1249; In 1220 it appears as Strexia. In 1935 an interwar agreement confirming the Locarno treaties was concluded in Stresa, involving Great Britain, France and Italy, the so-called Stresa Front. In 2004 the 52nd meeting of the Bilderberg Conference took place here. In the middle of the 19th century, Stresa was connected to the shipping traffic on Lake Maggiore, whereas in Stendhal's time you still had to embark in Sesto Calende or in Arona to get to the Borromean Islands. The unification of Italy that began in 1859 also boosted tourism. In 1859 the inn "Della Speranza" was built near the landing stage, followed in 1863 by the luxurious "Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées". Today, the town has numerous accommodation options, from bed & breakfasts to luxury hotels, as well as shopping facilities, restaurants and cafés. In 1906, after the completion of the Simplon railway tunnel, the first trains connecting Paris with Milan stopped in Stresa. With the Simplon Express there were connections from Calais to Venice and Trieste. From 1919 Stresa was a stop on the Simplon-Orient-Express, with direct connections to Paris and Calais (with connections to Dover and London) on the one hand, and Venice, Belgrade, Bucharest, Athens and Constantinople on the other. In the immediate vicinity of Stresa is the Villa Pallavicino, which Ruggero Bonghi had built in 1855 in a classicist style and which was acquired in 1862 by the Pallavicino noble family from Genoa. It is located in a 16-hectare park with a small zoo that is open to the public. In 2021 it was sold to Prince Vitaliano Borromeo, who also owns the Borromean Islands with Isola Bella. Several passenger ships operate between Stresa, other towns on the shores of Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands. Monte Mottarone is used for winter sports. In summer, a road leads far up, where there is a wide view. It can also be reached from the northern outskirts with the "Funivia Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone" cable car. The "Giardino botanico Alpinia", an alpine botanical garden set up in 1934 with an area of 4 hectares, is located at the Alpino middle station (803 metres). On May 23, 2021, a gondola of the cable car crashed after the traction cable snapped. 14 people died in the accident.

The fashionable Stresa.

The Vallemaggia (Maggia Valley) is located in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The valley is traversed by the Maggia River and stretches 50 kilometers north from Locarno on Lake Maggiore. It is formed at the junction of the side valleys Valle Bavona from the right and Val Lavizzara from the left near the village of Cavergno. The valley and its subsidiary valleys are in the Vallemaggia district. Larger communities in the valley are Lavizzara, Avegno-Gordevio, Maggia, Sott Piodau and Cevio. The river areas neighboring the Maggia Valley are the Verzasca Valley to the east, the Ossola Valley to the west and the Bedretto Valley or the upper Valle Leventina to the north. Finds from the Copper Age show that the valley has been inhabited since at least that time. In Roman times the entire valley was sparsely populated, probably oriented towards the Vicus Muralto. It is believed that the cultural landscape of the valley with terraces, chestnut and walnut tree plantations was created in Roman times. The bottom of the valley was certainly inhabited by groups of Gauls during the Iron Age. Roman tombs have been found in Avegno, Gordevio, Aurigeno, Moghegno, Cevio and Maggia. In the Middle Ages, the Lombards reached Locarno and began to dominate the valley under the feudal rule of the Capitanei. During this period Christianity spread and the Church of San Vittore in Muralto was founded. After that, Maggia, Sornico and Cevio became independent municipalities. Gradually, the individual communities organized themselves into larger units. In the fourteenth century Bignasco, Cavergno, Brontallo and Menzonio formed an administrative unit, as did the villages of Val Lavizzara and Val Rovana (Cevio, Cavergno, Campo, Cerentino and Bosco were the Rovana Superior). In 1398 the Vallemaggia, the Verzasca Valley and the Mergoscia refused to pay taxes to the Locarnese nobility who held fiefs in these areas; In 1403 the valleys formally seceded from Locarno and established an independent judicial district with a 42-member general council and its own land rights, based in Cevio; various conflicts between the local valleys shaped their coexistence. In 1403/1404 the dispute between the municipalities of the lower valley and Cevio was ended by a treaty. In 1411-1412 the valley tried to elude the Duchy of Milan and joined the Duchy of Savoy. In 1416 the Confederates occupied the valley. They returned it to Milan in 1422 and to the Rusca family in 1439. Around 1430 the Lavizzara Valley was legally separated from the Vallemaggia. In 1513 the Confederates again occupied the valley, and for the next 300 years, from 1513 to 1798, the Vallemaggia was one of the bailiwicks of the twelve Confederate localities; its German name was Meiental or Mainthal. It was divided into the two valleys Vallemaggia and Lavizzara, but only one governor served for two years and judged the legal disputes. The Valle Lavizzara defended its independence from the Vallemaggia. It sabotaged attempts by some bailiffs and the Statute of Accounts to centralize the court in Cevio or overthrow the directors. When the Helvetic Republic was founded in 1798, the Vallemaggia became part of the canton of Lugano. In 1803 Napoleon gave the republic a federal structure and Ticino became its own independent canton with Vallemaggia as its own district and Cevio as its capital. In 1824 the first road to Bignasco was opened, in 1860 it was extended to Valle Lavizzara, 1882 to Rovana to Cimalmotta, to Valle Bosco after 1905 and to Valle Peccia only between 1922 and 1924. In the middle of the nineteenth century many families emigrated to Australia and America due to storms and economic hardship and also because of the gold rush. Between 1840 and 1870, 2,000 people emigrated, mostly men. Plinio Martini described the hard way of life in his novel Il fondo del sacco. Romance described. From 1907 to 1965, the Maggia Valley Railway ran between Locarno and Bignasco in Vallemaggia. After its decommissioning, the line was partially used to widen the valley road. A road tunnel into the upper Valle Leventina was planned at the time, but this was never realised. Apart from the junction in the Centovalli, the Vallemaggia represents a dead end for motorized traffic: there are no mountain passes that would lead to neighboring valleys. Craftsmanship involving stone has a centuries-old tradition here. Alongside wood, stone has always been the most important building material. A gray, fine-grained, crystalline rock is obtained, which is usually referred to as granite. However, it is more likely to be gneiss, otherwise the material would not be so easy to split. This stone is used in so many ways here as in few other regions. The traditional houses are covered with heavy stone slabs. Even posts for vines or pergolas are made of it. Also of great importance is the marble from the Peccia Valley, in the municipality of Lavizzara. Wikipedia.

Pilgrimages to Madonna del Sasso.

It's Monday October 17th, 2022. The weather remains nice and sunny at 20 degrees. Today I'm visiting Locarno and Ascona on Lake Maggiore by bike. From Gordevio you descend the Vallemaggia to a first stop in Tegno (1-5). I arrive in Locarno around eleven o'clock and spontaneously decide to visit Madonna del Sasso. Steffen from TerraX comes to mind with his apt "stay fascinated". For me it's the churches. But it's not the religion (I'm an atheist), it's the buildings and their history that always attract me on my travels. And so I park my bike at the signpost ( 6) and take the footpath Sentiero della Valle (7-10) up to the pilgrimage church (11-15). It is always impressive to see the power the churches had in earlier times and enabled them to leave their monuments in every little place in the world, magnificent as here or simple

Madonna del Sasso at Wikipedia.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso is an important pilgrimage destination and stands on a rocky outcrop inside the small valley dug by the Ramogna torrent, at an altitude of 370 meters in the municipality of Orselina, above Locarno in the Swiss canton of Ticino. In addition to the monastery, the building complex or Sacro Monte includes the Church of the Annunciation, the chapels below along the old access road with the arcade of the Cross, the ascent of the Way of the Cross and its stations in Aedicule, the chapel of the Pietà in the courtyard, the chapels of Lamentation of the dead Christ, the Last Supper and the Holy Spirit below the arcade, the stairs, the cemetery cross, the church square and finally the church of Santa Maria Assunta called Madonna del Sasso. At the end of the fifteenth century, the Franciscan Friar Bartolomeo Piatti from Ivrea settled as a hermit in a hamlet at the foot of the rock. He came from the monastery of San Francesco in Locarno, where he had no particular title or office within the community. His ascetic life fostered a strong cult of the Virgin among the local population, who, according to legend, had appeared to the friar. The construction of the Church of Santa Maria Annunciata at the foot of the promontory began, thanks to the donation of land by Antonio Guido Orelli. In the notarial deed of donation, the name "Madonna del Sasso" appears for the first time in the spelling "santa Maria del Saxo". 1498 confirms Pope Alexander VI. the donation of the Rock of Orselina to the Franciscans by the Masina del Monte family in order to build a sanctuary there. The church was consecrated in 1502. In 1514, Pope Leo X freed the hill of the sanctuary from all servitude and jurisdiction. In 1522 the walls received a series of frescoes, including that on the north wall of the choir with the Madonna Enthroned with Child, attributed to Domenico Pezzi from Puria called "Furgnicus". a painter who commuted between the Lugano area and Genoa and in the monastery church of Santa Maria degli Angioli in Lugano, in the parish church of Santa Maria del Sasso in Morcote, in the portico in front of the parish church of Villa Luganese, in the church of San Biagio of Bellinzona-Ravecchia and in Gravedona in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. On the southern wall of the nave is Christ and the Torah scholars, attributed to the della Rovere brothers called Fiammenghini. Fra Bartolomeo will be buried in this church a few years later. According to a parchment kept in the cantonal archives of Bellinzona, in 1487 Rolando, Bishop of Antarado, consecrated a church and an oratory "alla beata Maria vergine santissima avvocata" ("to the Blessed Virgin and Most Holy Advocate Mary"), both of which had been built by the nun and around which a great popular piety had arisen. The buildings were subordinated to the Franciscan monastery in Locarno and especially to Fra Bartolomeo until his death. At the end of the sixteenth century the construction of a second church on top of the rock began, consecrated in 1616. The coronation of the Madonna del Sasso the following year began a series of works to embellish and complete the Sacro Monte. The chapels and the clay sculptures set up in them date from this period. That of the Last Supper consists of terracotta statues by Francesco Silva from Morbio Inferiore, a sculptor who also worked at Sacro Monte di Varese. The story of the sanctuary's origins is written in Latin on a marble slab inside, dated July 10, 1624. The inscription mentions the donation of the land to the Franciscan order by the Masina del Monte family and the consecration of the church by Filippo Archinti, Bishop of Como, in 1616. In 1617 the access that leads from the Pietà to the Sanctuary was widened and in 1618 the small tower called the open portico was built, which gives access to the church, with the rooms for guests in the lower part. In 1619 a path was built on the ridge of the hill with a few chapels dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary, to which later the chapels of the Way of the Cross were added, which still exist today: the chapel of Calvary was built in 1620, that of Veronica in 1625, that of the in 1670 Resurrection near the Chapel of Calvary. Work was completed in 1677 with the Chapel of the Ascension. With a decree of 1848, the state and republic of the canton of Ticino expropriated the monastery and the pilgrimage site of the Madonna del Sasso and expelled the inmates from the canton. The site was given to the Capuchin Father Alessandro da Giornico and since then it has remained in the hands of the canton, while the Capuchins supervised and cared for religious affairs. Major works were undertaken between 1891 and 1912, heavily remodeling the entire complex of buildings on the top of Sacro Monte. The monastery was enlarged in 1892, the facade was rebuilt in a Renaissance style, small loggias and terraces were added on the east side in 1895 and the bell tower was also renovated by the architect Alessandro Ghezzi from Lamone. Then, in 1903, the chancel was widened with the construction of a retaining wall that completely covered the rocky outcrop on which the sanctuary rests. The north side was last renovated in 1912 with the construction of a loggia, which allows access to the choir of the church directly from the monastery. This work was carried out at the initiative of the friars, albeit with strong internal opposition, notably from Father Agostino from Vezia, superior of the Ticino Capuchins, and from Fra Bernardo from Andermatt, then overseer of the monastery. The project and idea of these interventions go back to Fra Angelo Osio from Pesaro. Despite the strong criticism, the intervention was carried out by the Capuchins and financially supported by the local population. In 1918 the church was elevated to the rank of a minor basilica. The first major restorations to the convent, parts of the Assunta Church and the Way of the Cross took place between 1974 and 1980 under the direction of the architect Luigi Snozzi. Further important restoration work, subsidized by the state of the canton of Ticino, took place between 2004 and 2012.

Walks in Locarno and Ascona.

After the Way of the Cross has led me back down to Locarno, I walk through the center of Locarno (1-8) and from there, on the recommendation of friend Hampe, to the Ristorante Sensi (9-10) on the lake promenade. This time I don't feel like fish and I choose a Ticino specialty Luganighetta (9-10). Now back on the bike, you pass the Lido Locarno and over the Ticino (11) to Ascona. I walk along the lakeside promenade there (12-15) before heading back home to the Maggia Valley.

Locarno and Ascona at Wikipedia.

Locarno is a municipality in the district of Locarno and the capital of the district of Locarno in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The former German name Luggárus still lives in the Walser dialect of the municipality of Bosco/Gurin in the Liggåårasch pronunciation. The city is the third largest city in the canton of Ticino after Lugano and Bellinzona. The city of Locarno is located on the north shore of Lake Maggiore and on the eastern edge of the Maggia Delta, where it borders with Ascona, Losone, Terre di Pedemonte and Tenero-Contra. The Monti della Trinita district nestles on the hillside above the town, and the territory of the commune also includes a large unconnected area in the Magadino plain, the Gerre di Sotto. From a structural point of view, the city of Locarno has grown together with the independent municipalities. The Locarno agglomeration with Muralto, Minusio and Orselina has around 40,000 inhabitants. Locarno, together with the rest of southern Ticino and the province of Como, is part of the Ticino metropolitan region. The place was inhabited as early as the younger Bronze Age. Later settlements can be proven on the basis of necropolises from the La Tène and Roman times. A royal court is mentioned in documents in 866. Frederick I granted Locarno new market rights in 1164 and imperial immediacy in 1186. In 1342 the Visconti conquered the city, who gave it to the Rusca as a fief from 1439 to 1503. The Confederates conquered the city in 1503, but only received the castle in 1513 from the hands of the French King Louis XII. From then on, a bailiff of the twelve places exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction. The city was governed by the three corporations of the nobility (Capitanei dei Nobili), the bourgeoisie (Borghesi) and now also the country folk (Terrieri), who met in the Provincial Council (Magnifico Consiglio). The Reformation also gained a foothold in Locarno around 1530; the Carmelite Balthasar Fontana studied the Bible and Reformation writings with other brothers. From 1539 the priest and teacher of the Latin school in the monastery of San Francesco Giovanni Beccaria, the doctor Taddeo Duno and the jurist Martino Muralto were the leading figures in the growing Reformation movement. From 1542 to 1544, the then evangelical Glarner bailiff Joachim Bäldi supported the reformatory forces. It was not until 1547 that there was a break with the Catholic Church, and an independent Protestant community was formed, which met in private homes. A faith talk in 1549, chaired by the Catholic bailiff Nikolaus Wirz, did not lead to an agreement, but to the end of the talks, to the brief arrest and expulsion of Beccaria, who fled to Roveredo and Mesocco in Misox in the canton of Grisons. In 1555 the Reformed had to give up their new evangelical faith or leave Locarno. Driven out by the evangelicals, suspicion and resentment, Locarno remained torn apart, smaller and poorer. In 1584 the plague struck the city and decimated its population so badly that only 700 of the original 4,800 people remained. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime, Locarno became part of the newly created Swiss canton of Lugano in 1798. In the 1870s, when transport links to both the north and the south improved, the Locarno region began to develop as a hotel and tourism industry, which to this day forms the economic backbone of the city. The Locarno Film Festival was first held in 1946. In 2017, Locarno was awarded the honorary title of "European City of Reformation" by the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Worth seeing next to Madonna del Sasso: Piazza Grande, Castello Visconteo from the twelfth century, the remains of the defensive bastion Rivellino (possibly designed by Leonardo da Vinci.), numerous churches and palaces, town houses. Ascona is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The former German names Aschgunen or Aschgonen, based on Lombardic, are no longer used today. The former fishing village and later health resort is located on the north shore of Lake Maggiore. Ascona is the lowest-lying town in Switzerland, as the village center is right on the lake. To the west, the municipality extends beyond the wooded mountain and viewpoint of Corona dei Pinci, which is 1,293 meters above sea level. Excavations in 1969 in and around the Church of San Michele unearthed Neolithic flints and pottery shards. Middle and late Bronze Age pottery has been found in the necropolis of San Materno. Around 1,000 BC there was a fortified hilltop settlement on the nearby hill of Baladrum, of which the remains of dry stone walls still exist. Ascona first appears in written sources in 1186, when the bishop of Como gave lands in Ascona and Locarno, including the castle of San Michele, to Pietro de Duni and other nobles, who then expanded them. 1224 the village was mentioned as burgus de Scona.