"WHERE IT ALL STARTED" Terrestre's Profile

HI AGAIN,
JUST A SHORT NOTE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ON OCTOBER 17 I WILL RELOCATE TO MONTEVIDEO - URUGUAY. I WILL BE BACK TO DO MORE SERIOUS WORK AS SOON AS MY COMPUTER ARRIVES TO THE NEW DESTINATION.

Hi All,

I,ve just joined this fabolous community of travelers and I feel honoured to be part of it.
It is difficult to know where to start from, so I decided to start with my birth country Italy and more specific the region of Lombardy, the province of Varese and the Lake Maggiore area.
Someone told me that I was lucky to come from such a beautiful area and I believe it.

Comabbio and Varese lakes

The province of Varese borders Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland and both countries share a part of the Lake Maggiore and the Lake of Lugano.
Many inhabitants of this area work in Switzerland and commute every day through the many border crossings such as Fornasette, Ponte Tresa, Porto Ceresio, Pino Tronzano and others.
The province could be called The Lake District as there many more lakes scattered around such as Varese, Monate the purest of all due to its source from a natural spring, Comabbio, Ganna and Ghirla best known for ice skating in Winter.

View from Comerio

The lake of Varese is the second in size and there are some interesting villages along its coast line.
The most important site is the Isolotto Viginia where remaining of the first pile-dwelling were found and still today is regarded as a very important archaeological discovery.
Despite of its size the lake freezes during very cold Winters and in the past, when weather conditions were more stable, cars were able to travel across.

Varese is a pretty town, not too big and still friendly. In Corso Matteotti a pedestrian street and the main square Piazza Montegrappa several beautiful shops and cafes can be found. Varese is well know for its shoe factories.
In the outskirt of the town and in the town itself there are many beautiful villas built in the typical architecture of the area. Some of them have magnificent gardens.
Near the lake at Calcinate there is a glider club and at Luvinate a beautiful golf course.

Chapel - Sacromonte

Above Varese is the Sacromonte (sacred mountain). It can be reached by car or bus, but the most ejoyable way is on foot. If the the time is limited one can go up by bus and down on foot.
On the way up there are 12 chapels containing man size statues representing the 12 stations of the Cross.
Every year on Good Friday, at dusk, hundreds of people take part in the procession with candles. Stops for payers are made at the chapels.
A part from the religiuos meaning, it is a pleasent experience.

Laveno

Laveno is a quaint village by the Lake Maggiore. One of the main attractions is the gondola to Sasso del Ferro. At the top there is a restaurant-bar and a look out from which the veiw of the lake is fantastic.
Also from the top there is a take off point for those keen on hang-gliding and para-gliding. The landing area is on the other side of the mountain and so is the club house.
Laveno was famous for its procelain factories most of them now closed.
The finish products such as dinner and tea sets, plates and vases are now valuable collection items.

Santa Caterina

From all the places by the Lake Maggiore, this have to be the most impressive. The monastry and the church were carved into the cliff around the year 200 a.d. and this place can only be reached by 375 long steps or by boat. During The Plague walls were coated with lime and only recently some frescoes were discovered underneath.
During the plague a hermit used to live in a cell by the water and was fed from passing boats. He almost became a Saint and after his death the body was kept in an glass urn in a corner of the church. A huge rock from the cliff above landed on the roof of the church only to go through the roof when the urn was removed.

Tuesday market

Like in many places around Italy markets are an important part of the local culture and also in this area.
Every day of the week there is a market in a different town or village. The Tuesday market in Laveno and the Friday in Luino are some of the best.
Both markets have very good quality products, from delicatessens, fruit and vegetables to household items, fashion and shoes.
The market of Luino being very close to the Swiss border attracts full buseloads of shoppers even as far as Austria and Germany.