Cosmo Lake E-Book

Davide Dell'acqua

• Herausgeber: Ettore Maria Peron
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Cosmo Lake is a new, likeable way of travelling, discovering beauty, history, art and nature of Lake Como.Discover the unusual and beautiful itineraries, the herbs gifts of Mother Nature, the traditional Lake Como cuisine and the newest one.

Leseprobe

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MO LAkeEttore Maria PeronDavide Dell’Acqua Alessandro VerroneWATERCOLOURS BY Patrizia AzimontiTranslated by Marcus tomprosPICTURES BY LORENZA MERCURI An unusual way to recount the hiddenbeauty of Lake Como:Art, an abundant nature of infinite delicacies, its hidden nooks and crannies that often go forgotten,its quaint stretches of land that emergespontaneously to eager eyes, its millions of products that one must discover anew, It is the land that we traverse, whose bounties return to today's dinner table as priceless, antique pearls.

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{PAGE}{PAGE}Page 3: The Countess BathBy Anna Bianchi – La Stria

{PAGE}{PAGE}The holidays have finally arrived, and at last, I have 5 daysoff! I live and work as a chef in Milan, and while I love bothmy city and my job, sometimes I need a little rest. That’s why I’m spending five days at Lake Como, making Menaggio my base camp. I discovered Lake Como with my father. He was an accountant by trade, but his real passion was being a tourguide. Dad adored this lake, and like lovers do, he knew all its most intimate features. Thankfully, this most important part of his legacy survives in me and in my enthusiasm for what I do today. For this reason I invite you to walk with me through some of the most unknown treasures of Lake Como. We’ll pickplants that Mother Nature so generously provides and usethem in traditional Lake Como recipes. Interested? I knewyou would be! So, be sure to wear comfortable shoes and tobring some sandwiches and water on our journey. Let’s go!Andiamo!

{PAGE}{PAGE}FIRST ITINERARY: Menaggio, Loveno, Tobi, Forni, The Val Sanagra Ravine and Castello di Menaggio1 Piazza Garibaldi2 Menaggio city coat of arms3 Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio)4 Villa Vigoni 5 Belvedere 6 Tobi Bridge 7/8 Countess Bath (Il bagno della Contessa) 9 Sanagra Ravine 10 Castle Walls 11 San Carlo’s Flat Bell Tower 12 San Carlo’s Church13 View of Castello 14 Via Castellino da Castello

{PAGE}{PAGE}The first walking itinerary lasts approximately five hours. Yes, it islong, and there are some parts of it that you might considerdangerous, so please read this itinerary in its entirety before you decide to follow it. Note that this trek isn’t recommended for small children, and that if you do decide to take it, bring some sort ofbag for storing picked herbs and such.

{PAGE}{PAGE}Ok, adventure seekers! We start today’s journey by heading out from Piazza Garibaldi in Menaggio, where from the town centre, one can fully appreciate its breath-taking waterfront. There is aunique view of Bellagio on our right, and further on, one of Varenna, which is simply splendid! To the left of Varenna, we passby some not-so-aesthetically pleasing terraced houses (close your eyes, they are rather ugly), until we reach the town square. Here, on the left, there are fine memorial stones on a building that was once an ancient baptistery. These remnants stand as silentwitnesses of an ancient past history. Do stop and let them whisper their secrets to you… Let’s head now to Santa Marta Church, where other pieces of marble await us! One of them is thegravestone of a celebrated Roman; another is an ancientrepresentation of Menaggio city’s coat of arms.

{PAGE}{PAGE}A hundred meters ahead, we find the Parish Church of SantoStefano, inside which is a copy of a Bernardino Luini’s painting. The original was here, but it was given to the French in the 17th century to convince them to establish some public offices in Menaggio instead of Tremezzo. We are now in Via Lusardi, wherethere is a great bakery. Let’s take a quick break to buy some lunch(there are no markets in Loveno). Next to the bakery there is a nice art gallery that houses some wonderful paintings and sculptures which deserve our attention. Ahh! Food for the body; art for the soul. How more magical can Lake Como get? Well, justwait! Just before the bridge over the Sanagra River, we turn left on Via per Loveno, where we pass the side of a factory (I believe it was a convent, at one time). At the end of the street, we turnright and cross Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), the threshold of ourjourney from the present into this region’s rich past. We are currently on the old Strada Regina, a road built during the late Roman Empire. There is an aedicule in the middle of the bridge, and the river can be heard gushing out in the form of a resoundingwaterfall, giving life to the lush vegetation that surrounds it. Breathe deeply, my friends. This is fresh air at its finest! It is really at this point that the Sanagra River starts showing its true charm, as the bustling noise of the city slowly disappears under its majestic flow. If you have had your fill of fresh air, you might want to walk a few steps beyond this point to a small chapel that housesa touching 3D representation of Caravaggio apparition of theVirgin Mary. Let’s continue walking up to Loveno, flanking somenice houses and a bamboo thicket. On our way, we will cross the main street several times, shortening our trip by following an old cobblestone road (it’s roughly a 15 minute walk). Finally, we arrive at splendid Loveno, where the houses are old and well-kept. You can see how much the people livinghere value their

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{PAGE}{PAGE}community. Every corner is breath-taking, as rich villas and traditional country houses blend harmoniously throughout the neighbourhoods. Though you might not live here, I encourage you to take some time to wander its streets. A new friend might justbe passing by any minute now… We then cross in front of the villa where Massimo D’Azeglio used to live, and then move on to thewonderful villa Mylius Vigoni, with its beautiful romantic garden, one of the best kept in all of Lombardy. Today this villa, left as a legacy to the German Government from its latest owner, is the German-Italian Centre for European Excellence. The centre hostsmany events yearly, so I suggest you see check its website to see which programmes, if any, you might want to attend during yourstay. Just opposite the centre is villa Garovaglio Ricci, which alsobelongs to the centre.

{PAGE}{PAGE}At the end of Via Vigoni, we see the Church of San Lorenzo, which we pass on the right as we walk up the hill to its cemetery. If youare a lover of funerary art, I suggest a short visit to the ancient part of this graveyard, where you will see a tiny “Père Lachaise” containing a few valuable monuments. The purity of the feelingsshown through these gravestones warms even the coldest of hearts. Outside the cemetery begins a vast prairie with botanical richness.This is the perfect opportunity to look for herbs and plants that we can use to prepare our future meals. Grab that sack I told you to bring! Piamuro is “the land of milk and honey” for those passionate about botany, for there are plenty wild carrots, horsetail, nettle, blackberries, hazelnuts, artemisia, and lemon balm to be found, many of which will be used in the recipes at the end of this guide book. We continue walking through the forest for a few hundred metres until we arrive at street number 3, at which point we walk through a gate and cross an area full of beautiful chestnut andcentennial trees. Continue past the sign indicating the way to “Tobi” and after a short hike up the hill we arrive at “Belvedere”,where an old balustrade keeps us safe from the ravine over the Sanagra. From here we can enjoy the hamlet of Cardano, the backof Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, the church, and, far on the left, in all itsyellow splendour, one of Mussolini’s last hideouts, the one-time Hotel Miravalle.

{PAGE}{PAGE}While we stand here enjoying the view, I want to tell you aboutBaron Galbiati, the first owner of Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, who lived in the 19th century. At that time, his property included all of“Belvedere”, where we are now standing. What we see today as wooded area was actually an exquisitely romantic garden at onepoint. In just a moment, we are going to go to the heart of its ruins, and yes, kissing is allowed there, should you feel so inclined! Dammi un bacio, amore mio!. Ok, all you lovers… Back to thechestnut woods we go, following the sign indicating “Tobi”. Making our way down the 19th century cobblestone path, we encounter a spring where the water is bone-chillingly fresh.Someone placed a plastic statue of the Virgin of Lourdes (including Saint Bernadette!) in the small recess above the spring. It’s adevotional gesture deserving respect, even though the small statue is a bit kitsch (ok, so not everything Italian is beautiful…).

{PAGE}{PAGE}As you stroll along, be sure to take in the towering plane trees, remnants of the old garden I mentioned earlier. Every time I visitthis spot, I cannot help but ponder the degree to which Baron Galbiati was such a romantic, an inveterate dreamer. God, if therewere only more of him alive today! From here, we descend a bit more, until we reach a small horsetail field where we can stop and be fully enraptured by the noise of racing water. We are ever soclose to Tobi Bridge.

{PAGE}{PAGE}Once there, be sure to stop and really listen to Mother Naturework her magic. The surging white water will surely cleanse yourbeing, leaving it open to receiving other goodies that I have in storefor you, namely “il Bagno della Contessa”, the Countess Bath. Inmy opinion, this site is the cherry on top of today’s cake walk. So, let’s go pay the Countess a visit, shall we? Start again from thebridge and cross back over the Belvedere track for about 15-20 metres. You will go around a rock and eventually find yourself in front of a crossroads. Standing there, look up on your left, where you will notice a third path. Take it, but be careful: it’s very narrow and flanks a precipice. After about 200 metres, we haveto cross a little stream. Once there, if we look up, we will see aniron ladder leading to a tunnel dug into the rock.