North-Italy

Midsummer celebrations around lake Como (Como town, Menaggio, Bellagio, Dongo and Gravedona), Turin and Milan.

   June 2021

Midsummer celebrations around lake Como (Como town, Menaggio, Bellagio, Dongo and Gravedona), Turin and Milan.

Traveled to another region in Italy I had never been to in mid June. Many of my friends have been talking about the beauty of the Como area for years, decided to finally check it out and was not disappointed at all. Mountains, lakes, friendly people, good food, good wine and not the most terrible prices at all (this might be the doing of the lack of tourists, for obvious reasons).

First up Como town. Flew into Milan and did a quick two-hour train ride directly from the airport to Como. First day was cloudy-ish but oh so hot and lovely!

Duomo, the Como cathedral - a gothic church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, constructed in the 14th century, yet completed in the 18th century.

Como offers many narrow streets and colourful piazzas to daydream and people-watch (maybe even meet some Hollywood stars, as quite some of them have villas and country houses around the lake) and at the same time enjoy gorgeous lake views. I have always loved these small yacht harbours. They just have something about them!

A pathway toward the Life Electric monument. 

Life Electric - an avant-garde monument that architect Daniel Libeskind donated to the city. It is positioned in the middle of Lake Como and is portraying light, water and wind. It's inspired by the electric tension between the two poles of a battery, as a reference to Alessandro Volta's gift  to the humankind. Sitting there in the middle of the lake actually creates a peaceful, somehow energizing atmosphere.  

A neoclassic temple, dedicated to a hometown physicist Alessandro Volta. The electrical term "volt" comes from his name as his experiments and theories resulted in the invention of a modern battery.

Took a bus from Como first to Menaggio and thereon to Gravedona. Had a small stopover in Menaggio for quick exploring around.

After some more winding mountain roads we reached Gravedona, a picture perfect small town, not too many tourists, lots of friendly locals, lots of nature trails and great views of nearby mountains and well, obviously lake Como. 

We were extremely hungry when we arrived and basically at down in the first place we saw, it happened to be a small family restaurant with such great pizzas! 

We had booked an apartment at Agriturismo alla Poncia. What an amazing little rentals apartment building just a bit outside of Gravedona centre, with an amazing pool, fully equipped apartment and yard and surrounded by mountains. 

We could use their bikes to get around. 

Church of Saint Maria of Tiglio in Gravedona

An old church partially built in the 6th century, part of the mosaic floor is still there. The new church was built on top of it in the 12th century. One evening there was a mass going on in one part of it, the church doors were open so we peeked in a bit and looked at the old half-restored frescos on the wall and catacombs below the church. 

All the apartments also have a fully equipped kitchen. Made use of it quite a lot! 

One evening we were enjoying the views and the lightning far in the mountains until we realized it was coming directly towards us. Ran down the street into town and made it to the first pub the moment heavy rainfall, wind and thunder hit the town. The town went into complete fog for nearly an hour. The lake or anything a couple meters away was not visible. Once the rain passed tho the air was fresh and clear and we got to continue our bike ride and explorations. 

Palazzo Gallio. 

Impressive noble residence of cardinal Bartolomeo Gallio of the Holy Roman Church, built in 1586. It was used by the French and the Spanish as a hospital until the early 1800s. Today, cultural events, shows and performances take place in the building.

Another day we rode our bikes to a neighboring town Dongo and rented a boat. None of us had ever driven a boat, the lesson was very brief, but we managed.. almost perfectly! What a fun experience it was. I'm actually considering getting a licence one day. 

I mean.. when in Italy!

Hopped on a boat from Gravedona to Bellagio on our way back towards Como town. An idyllic and pretty little town, perfect for a hot afternoon visit. It's a lot more touristy and bustling than Gravedona was, but a perfect daytrip destination. The promenades are beautiful and it offers great views on lake Como from many angles as it is situated in the meeting point of the three arms of the lake. 

The last night around the lake we spent again in Como town. It was also Italy vs Austria gameday at UEFA EURO 2020, and Italy won (well obviously, as they became EU champions later.. quite a good year for them), but as you can imagine emotions were high in the town for that evening! 

Early next morning took a train to Milan and to Turin from there. Picked up K's car and headed to lunch at a restaurant where his friends work. 

Banco di Sicilia - an amazing Sicilian restaurant with lots of traditional foods (e.g pistachio pasta), great seafood and lovely liquors. 

Limoncello and the pistachio liquor (amazing!!)

Stumbled upon a jazz festival and some flee markets on the streets of Turin. 

Also needed to tourist around, so headed to old town for culture. 

First up Piazza San Carlo and its gallerias and archways.

Palazzo Reale.

The Royal Palace of Turin from the 16th century, residing on the Piazza Castello in the centre of Turin. A beautiful palace with lovely large open gardens. We were wandering around in the yard and gardens and literally stumbled inside accidentally as many of the side and back doors were open probably because of the heat. 

Gotta love how they do it in Italy. We ordered a juice and an ice cream, but got a bunch of tapas as well.

Piazza Carignano and palazzo Carignano 

Mole Antonelliana.

Originally a Jewish Synagogue, now a National Cinema Museum. Fun fact, it is said to be the tallest museum in the world.

For the night drove 40 minutes out of Turin into the mountains to K's place. Stopped for groceries, scored a super discounted great wine and cooked a lovely, healthy dinner (after all this pizza and pasta) and enjoyed it with warm air and gorgeous mountain views on the terrace. 

Mooorninnggg!!!

Chatted with K's very Italian and very welcoming neighbours next morning and got to try all their home-made goodies. Ready for the winter! Neighbour-watch works excellently as well, a minute after we entered the apartment last evening, another neighbour called him and asked how was the vacation, and who am I.

Explored the countryside, went for a swim in a chilly river with the side of some lovely waterfalls and had a picnic next to them. 

As a last stop, explored the town of Pinerolo, where I also took a bus back to Turin and headed to Milan for one last evening before my flight back. 

After a couple years of not being able to do that -  spent a night at a hostel in a shared room. I realized I missed the freedom of being able to do that, not that itself ;) One more pizza, some more wine, more football and an early morning flight back home, what I tried my best to miss, as I was trying to do some alternative route to the airport, and almost missed the correct train. Note to self - just stick to the easy way.