Lago Maggiore

I’m always a bit skeptical when hotels include breakfast for an additional fee, as the price / quality relationship never seems to work in your favor. This hotel, however, definitely gave us our money’s worth, with a lakeside buffet breakfast (visible in the foreground in the picture below) the that included a fantastic view.

Our first stop on Sunday was the Chiesa di San Gottardo, a 14th century church in the hills above Carmine Superiore (just south of Cannobio). To get to the church, we had to park just off the main lakeside road (kind of like parking along PCH in Malibu) and hike up a steep trail for about 15 minutes.

 

The church offered a panoramic view of Lake Maggiore and the surroundinging area. It was a nice reward given the effort required, particularly since the church didn’t open for another hour. Fortunately, there was a window that allowed us get a peek at the inside.

There was a small group of old houses adjacent to the church. I was going to refer to them as a small village, but that would be a drastic overstatement (see below -- here’s one of the main “roads”). I presume the houses are accessible from the mountain-side as I couldn't imaging being a resident and having to hike up /down every day.

While hiking back down we passed the following property trhat was for sale. And while I don’t speak Italian, I think the “Terrano con Rustico” description on the sign seems to be spot on. But at least the view was spectacular.

 

It was very warm at this point, so before heading to our next (scheduled) destination we stopped briefly in Canero Riviera. The town has a very nice lakefront, with some restaurants with outdoor patios.

Our next stop was the Sacro Monte di Ghiffa, a “devotional complex” in the hills above Ghiffa that was built during the 17^th century. It consisted of a number of chapels and also had a beautiful panoramic view. Unlike with the Chiesa di San Gottardo, this time we were able to drive to the top. This was much appreciated given the mid-day heat.

For our final visit of the day we went to the Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto in Verbania. It’s a botanical garden established by a Scotsman during the 1930s (it was a wise choice to go with “Villa Taranto” rather than “Villa McEacharn”). And while by this point I was a bit overloaded with visits to gardens, I can definitely say that it was actually very nice.

 

 

Before driving home we stopped in Verbania for a late lunch. I didn’t notice the tiny car in the following picture when I took it, but I like the contrast it provides with the massive belltower in the background.