Three Summers: 'If it should befall that you possess a heart and shirt, then sell the shirt and visit the shores of Lago Maggiore'

Saturday 21 May 2011

'If it should befall that you possess a heart and shirt, then sell the shirt and visit the shores of Lago Maggiore' - Stendahl

Walk up the 44 ancient stone steps, past Gabriella and Alberto's apartment, and you will arrive at the green and ochre arched window. You will also have arrived at our 'home' in Lake Maggiore for the next week. A three room apartment on via Guiseppe Verdi in tiny, beautiful Dumenza. From each room there are beautiful views across the green hills to the neighbouring hamlets and villages, the local church and a peek at the Italian alps.

We arrived from Luzern on Saturday afternoon. Our decision for that day was... tunnel or pass? Gotthard Tunnel or Gotthard Pass, that is. The Pass had only recently opened after the winter months of snow. A local - a Luzerner - had told us that for this reason the Pass is popular and could be congested and slow, and so in our eagerness to arrive at the Italian lakes we chose the tunnel. Seventeen minutes of one's life under a mighty mountain! Amazing engineering.

We unpacked then walked the narrow cobbled village streets to the waterfall. Dumenza is 'famous' as being the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci's pupil Bernadino Luini, and we walked past the plaque that we translated as the home of Vincenzo Pruggia, the humble housepainter who, in 1911, became famous for stealing 'La Gioconda' from the Louvre. I must find out what happened to him! There are two very good restaurants in the village, a small deli, a supermarket, a pharmacy and two churches. It's quiet and peaceful and absolutely beautiful and exciting to be in Italy.

We spent the week visiting nearby towns and island hopping on the lake ferries - Isola Bella and Isola Pescatori our favourites. Reading, walking, swimming in the lake. Bliss.

Stand in any Italian street, shop or cafe and listen to the music. It's not coming from a radio or sound system - it's the voices, the people around me speaking! It's the most expressive and colourful of languages and to me it sounds like music!