Lake Como from Monte San Martino, Lecco, Italy.
Today was to be my 'catch-up' day, time out to respond to work emails and messages from family and enjoy a rest before pondering the next seven days I had left in Lecco. I had thought to alternate day trips with excursions as there are numerous places to visit in North Italy that are only an hour or so away, and so very accessible with the affordable Italian public transport system. Seek out the imagined space where Romeo serenaded Juliet in Verona maybe? Or have a parma in Parma (couldn't resist, sorry)? After sitting down for an hour or so I thought it time for a 'break' to stretch the legs. I packed my backpack with the basics: charged mobile phone, house keys and a bottle of water and off I wandered off in the general direction of the mountain I had been peering out at and photographing every single night I spent in Lecco; I realised that I had not even walked that side of the house yet, always walking the same predictable 2-3 routes down town. Even if I just venture into new neighbourhoods for ten minutes, it would be some exercise and a different environment to experience. So with no map, no directions, no research about hiking or potential dangers, and no informing my hosts that I was possibly about to venture up a large mountain, I sought the unknown.
Donkeys on the way up.
After ascending the road for several blocks, I started feeling like I was in a different town altogether, alternating between large private gated properties replete with swimming pools, and tiny abodes on the outskirts of town, several with donkeys in paddocks. The rich smell of donkey manure was somehow reassuring, recalling those familiar smells of Australian agriculture. As I neared the mountain, I thought I may as well ascend. That was where the visible wildlife ended; from then on all I saw were minuscule lizards that scampered away just in front of me as I marched on through the forest. It was hard to drop that habit of just slightly keeping a watchful eye out for snakes. But - I'm in Italy! No venomous snakes! And no rubbish either. After forging on ahead for two hours, experiencing all types of walking paths from rocks you need to grab onto to large uneven stones and gravel I ended up in Monte San Martino - I only know this from the signs that appeared and by cross checking the visual appearance of the mountain with its distinctive vertical cliff when I returned.
The mountain San Martino belongs to the Grigne group and together with Resegone is the rocky natural background for Lecco. Alessandro Manzoni the writer (see previous blogposts of mine about Lecco) mentions it in The Betrothed: “The bank, formed by the deposit of three large mountain streams, descends from the bases of two contiguous mountains, the one called St. Martin, the other by a Lombard name, Resegone, from its long line of summits, which in truth give it the appearance of a saw”. And it does indeed visually resemble a saw. At the top is the tiny Chapel of San Martino, dedicated to Madonna del Carmine, and from here you can enjoy a wonderful views of Lake Lecco, Lakes Briantei, Lake Garlate and Olginate and all the surrounding landscapes.
Having returned home (and stretching those calves) I am feeling absolutely elated at having made it to the top of the world (I mean Mount San Martino). Where to next?
My daughter Sarah and my now son in law Joe visited for a short three days, so it was important to include a few must see and must do activities. We had heard that the Piani d'Erna was spectacular. The area is a mountain resort located at 1375 metres above sea level in the Lecco region, dominated by Mount Resegone and reached by a recently modernised cableway that starts from Malnago. Joe took the winding road up to the car park and we took the cable car to the top, dressed in our winter clothes because the weather was predicted to reach only 16 degrees on the hill. We had a gorgeous day exploring the landscape. It did not matter that there was a bit of drizzle and that clouds were moving in as we left, because it all added to the atmosphere.
Joe was keen to try the local food, so we followed Salvatore’s recommendation and went to a traditional restaurant. Writing this retrospectively, I now realise that the restaurant is quite famous for its Manzonian connections. I finally understand its name, La Corte di Lucia, because Lucia was one of the main protagonists in the famous novel The Betrothed. The restaurant sits behind an old wall and an old courtyard, and I also now realise that this courtyard is historically significant.
The nearby house linked to Lucia in the novel has long been associated with the character’s home. It is in the district of Olate and is often considered the most credible candidate among scholars who study Manzoni’s geography, although another house in the district of Acquate also claims the title. Both areas were once separate villages, which adds to the debate. Manzoni himself described Mount Resegone as a chain of peaks shaped like the teeth of a saw, a description that fits perfectly with the dramatic skyline you see from almost every corner of Lecco.
After Sarah and Joe left, I spent my first day on my own since their short visit. Thinking that the best way to lose myself is either in nature or in art, I set off to another of Lecco’s museums, the Palazzo delle Paure, which translates as the Palace of Fears. It seems a strange name for a contemporary art space, but there is a story behind it. Built in 1905, the building once housed the offices responsible for land records, taxes and duties. People in Lecco would come here to pay their taxes until the mid twentieth century, and the idea of tax day clearly carried a sense of dread. Today the building hosts temporary exhibitions along with sections devoted to contemporary art, graphic arts and photography.
I appreciated this museum far more than the crumbly Manzoni building. At least here there was a decent range of contemporary work to enjoy and a small but good photography exhibition. Upstairs I found a display space of a different kind. The Lecco Mountaineering Observatory is a modern, interactive museum that uses multimedia to trace the history of mountaineering from its early days to the present. With the mountains looming over Lecco, it seems fitting that they have an entire exhibition dedicated to the subject.
Back at home, I settled into what became my almost daily interactions with my Italian hosts. Sometimes a WhatsApp message would arrive inviting me to try something Marcella had cooked or something Salvatore had baked. The answer was always a firm “si”. I also enjoyed their tours of the vegetable garden. It is true that growing food is woven into Italian life, and this neighbourhood seems devoted to it. Vegetables and fruit appear in front yards, backyards, pots and any space that will hold them. I had never seen a kiwifruit vine before, but there is one in the yard here that produced sixty kilograms of fruit last year. As a result, the cupboards downstairs are packed with jars of kiwifruit jam.
This is so much richer than any hotel stay.
I will never tire of viewing these mountains. And speaking of Manzoni, I ventured out today to the museum Manzoni Villa; writing this retrospectively, I must have done this before Sarah and Joe arrived. It seems to be a pattern with the lesser known European museums: they're often hard to find. Once I did find Villa Manzoni I set upon the task of communicating to them that I had the ICOM pass. In Europe this actually seems to be well recognised, and fortunately I did not have to pay, especially as there was less than an hour until closing time. As customary with ICOM pass, I was asked where I was from. 'Ostrayleeyah' I said with typical Aussie accent. Not one of the four staff there could tell what I had said and they all chattered away in their multiply syllabled Italian. Eventually one said 'Ostrahhlya' and since then I know how to pronounce my country and be recognised. I wandered around the strange gallery and realised that I probably needed to swot up a little on Manzoni to gain appreciation of the museum which was described as one of Lecco's places to visit. The place resembled a run down old mansion with peeling wallpaper and old works on paper which would make any Australian curator or conservator gasp in horror at the lack of archival conditions in which they were displayed. I took my chance and opened a door - no alarm sounded so I kept going, found myself in a courtyard and found that there were more art spaces to explore, full of local art. Well it wasn't the Kunsthistoriches Museum or The Leopold, but it was a part of Lecco's history. Now that I have done further research, here is a bit more about Manzoni: Manzoni used to spend his summer vacation at Villa Manzoni in Lecco and the time spent in Lecco allowed him to appreciate and be impressed by the beautiful natural resources of the area and with excellent mastery and style painted them in the novel. The reader becomes the protagonist of the story, as if he was really present in the places where the events occurred. You can also walk around town and find sites of interest that were actual places in the book. Maybe I need to read 'The Betrothed' to gain further insight. In the meantime, here is a great website with the sites, all very close to the house: https://www.eccolecco.it/en/manzonian-places-lecco/ The houses, in rural style, are representative of the architecture of Lecco: a two-storey linear rustic building, with a walkway and wooden stairs as well as a courtyard in front of it. The room we chose to eat in was a conservatory style glass room which enabled us to peer into the courtyard. The service was lovely even though we had some obvious language problems. All the restaurants we have been in have challenged us as the menus are in Italian and then we get food lust when we look across to see what someone else has ordered. But we'd rather have it this way than to go downtown to the touristy spots. And the more authentic ones are all near our home and have a beautiful charm about them. Varenna, Bellagio, Cadenabbia and Tremezzina with Sarah and Joe: Today was a huge day with ferry rides aplenty amongst some of the most gorgeous lakes and postcard views in the world. On my travel wishlist was always Varenna - I'll admit this was from all those enticing tourist websites. We got to do this along with the very touristy but delightful Bellagio and also Cadenabbia. Each of these were linked by ferry. At Cadenabbia we walked along to Tremezzina to the highly recommended Villa Carlotta which included a a rather large garden in addition to the Villa itself which was replete with Neoclassical sculptures and a rather strange exhibition by contemporary artist Giovanni Frangi; I can't quite believe he was chosen for the Venice Biennale in 2004! Of course we giggled at the wonderfully mis-translated labels asking 'How do yuo stand in relation to it' and 'Why are not canvas hanging from the wall?' Praise goes to Joe who drove up the narrow hairpin bends towards our first visit: Vezio Castle, in Varenna. The views were like nothing we'd seen before, really pristine. Like many of these European castles, origins are unclear with Vezio probably being of Roman origin as there are Roman families with this name too. It is written that the castle would have been used by the people of Varenna to seek refuge against attacks from Como which were a usual occurrence in the middle ages. It is also an area used for training falcons and we did see one up in the air creating an amazing silhouette with the sky. After heaps of ferry rides, 12.2 kms of walking, 19,358 steps and 43 floors (thanks, Iphone app Health), we arrived home around 9pm, just in time to go out to dinner. Yes, that's the average time many Italians eat out; in fact most restaurants don't even open until 7.30pm! Sarah and Joe have no trouble at all with this, but it's something I'll need to get used to! Once again, we went to a great restaurant but struggled with the Italian language. We'll have to work on those terms!
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