LAKES
Digital travel magazine about villages and slow tourism
LAKE ISEO,
attraction by the water line
LAKE TRASIMENO,
blue heartbeat
LAKE LESINA,
Issue 06 2019 Free edition
#arteborghi
eco-friendly pictures
Finland, dedalo naturale
Legends on the shore
silence and poetry
www.e-borghitravel.com
DI
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SCOV
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Lago Trasimeno, Castiglione del Lago REDMASON/Shutterstock.com
® e-borghi travel 06 www.e-borghitravel.com Publisher Salvatore Poerio direzione@3scomunicazione.com Publishing coordinator Luciana Francesca Rebonato coordinamento@e-borghi.com Art director Ivan Pisoni grafica@e-borghi.com Editorial office Simona Poerio segreteria@e-borghi.com With the collaboration of Antonella Andretta, Cinzia Meoni, Marino Pagano, Luca Sartori, Nicoletta Toffano, Carola Traverso Saibante Translation Beatrice Lavezzari Draft revision Joni Scarpolini Promotion and Advertising 3S Comunicazione – Milano Cosimo Pareschi pareschi@e-borghi.com Commercial development Maurizio Bevilacqua commerciale@e-borghi.com Editing 3S Comunicazione Corso Buenos Aires, 92, 20124 Milano info@3scomunicazione.com tel. 0287071950 – fax 0287071968 L’uso del nostro sito o della nostra rivista digitale è soggetta ai seguenti termini: Tutti i diritti riservati. Nessuna parte di www.e-borghitravel.com può essere riprodotta, memorizzata in un sistema di recupero o trasmessa, in qualsiasi forma o con qualsiasi mezzo, elettronica, meccanica, fotocopia, registrazione o altro, senza previa autorizzazione scritta da parte di 3S Comunicazione. Nonostante l’accurata verifica delle informazioni contenute in questo numero, la 3S Comunicazione non può accettare responsabilità per errori od omissioni. Le opinioni espresse dai contributori non sono necessariamente quelle di 3S Comunicazione. Salvo diversa indicazione, il copyright del contributo individuale è quello dei contributori. È stato fatto ogni sforzo per rintracciare i titolari di copyright delle immagini, laddove non scattate dai nostri fotografi. Ci scusiamo in anticipo per eventuali omissioni e saremo lieti di inserire l’eventuale specifica in ogni pubblicazione successiva. © 2019 e-borghi
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Parli italiano? Leggi la versione in italiano
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Marchio di qualità turistico ambientale per l’entroterra del Touring Club Italiano
ditorial
eLuciana Francesca Rebonato facebook.com/lfrancesca.rebonato
L
akes are deep and intimate, their truth is mirrored and they’re plunged in their own longing. They sound still and they are sometimes so wide that you can’t even see their borders. It’s a game of shores that vibrates together with their villages and territories thus creating a unique mosaic. This is the spirit of this issue of e-borghi travel which is entirely dedicated to the lakes and the destinations they are set in, they are the icon of a deep unknown charm and much more. The unknown captivates our attention and it becomes the leitmotif of the travels at the discovery of these lakes starting with lake Iseo in Lombardy which is intimate and elegant and it’s spread with beautiful houses overlooking the water and a diva as protagonist, Monte Isola, the biggest lake island of Italy which stands out in the middle. Cars are forbidden here and after you have reached this destination by ferry you must discover it slowly to feel all its charm. Now let’s move towards the centre of Italy to reach Umbria and one of its most precious jewels, lake Trasimeno: a blue heartbeat surrounded by the green, featured by an amazing natural hillside amphitheatre spread with ancient Medieval villages. Castiglione del Lago, Città della Pieve, Passignano and Piegaro are some of the main unmissable pit stops in this area. Let’s reach the South of Italy and let’s stop in Pugliato to discover a new facet of this region. It’s not the typical landscape of the white houses, the olive groves and the Baroque style but it’s lake Lesina where the nature matches the silence, the time flows slowly compared with the nearby Adriatic coastline and the shores are filled with poetry. Lakes give us a sustainable slow pace and beyond the borders let’s stop in Finland featured by its picturesque villages along the Baltic coastline and reach Lapland. It’s a natural and human network that comes out of the novel “Resto qui” (I’ll stay here) by Marco Balzano, the winner of the literary prize Rigoni Stern 2019: it’s the deep history of Italy and its villages that comes to the surface again to add further insights to our contemporary society. The same goes for the art, Stendhal used to state in 1817 «Nothing in the world can be compared with the days spent by the lake surrounded by the forests, they are so green and it sounds their branches are plunged into the water». Here are the lakes now and then: unique little universes, the mirror where the dance of life is reflected. Luciana Francesca Rebonato coordinatore editoriale
Summary Lake Iseo
Lake Trasimeno
Lake Lesina
#arteborghi: L’arte in piedi
Lakes, the water of delights
Crossborder: Finland
Out of place holidays
Legends
Curiosities
Review
Cover: Passignano sul Trasimeno Claudiovidri/Shutterstock.com
Lake Iseo, attraction between the Camonica Valley and Franciacorta
Cinzia Meoni
facebook.com/cinzia.meoni
Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Santuario della Madonna della Ceriola, Monte Isola MC MEDIASTUDIO/Shutterstock.com
Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock.com
I
t’s a little piece of Heaven set between the province of Brescia and the province of Bergamo: the stone villages, the old parish churches, the castles, the monasteries, the villas and the fortresses frame the lake’s shores which is also one of the best destinations of the gourmet travellers. You can have a toast by drinking the white wine from the Franciacorta area while you are tasting the delicious risotto with the perch, the fried aole, the eel that is cooked in many different ways and
the roast char. The lake is also known by the name of lake Sebino, it’s the sixth widest lake in Italy and it hosts the widest lake island of Europe: Monte Isola which literally rises in the middle and it’s spread with tiny villages rich of history and traditions like Senzano or Cure where the production of the handcraft “salame” is continued. It’s nice to reach the sanctuary of Madonna della Ceriola at the top of Monte Isola since you can enjoy a breathless view on a bright day.
Breathless sceneries from the ferry
T
he best way to enjoy the beauty of the lake is by sailing with the perennial snow of Adamello in the distance which feeds the lake’s water through the river Oglio. On board of private boats or by the several ferries that cross the lake you can enjoy the different landscapes surrounding this charming stretch of water that is featured by a very ancient history. The sceneries are shaped by the water, by the wind and by the erosion that has been happening along the centuries as well as by the human
intervention: there are rocky walls that plunge into the lake and gentle slopes, the peatland areas that move towards the hills of Franciacorta and the three islands that sound floating on the lake’s water. It’s not by chance that the International artist Christo designed his installation called “The Floating Piers” in this area, it was an installation that enabled the visitors to walk on the water’s surface between the village of Sulzano and the three islands: Monte Isola and the two private islands of Loreto and San Paolo.
Riccardo Meloni/Shutterstock.com
s74/Shutterstock.com
Ekaterina Kondratova/Shutterstock.com
Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock.com
A jewel set in the green
T
here are three natural reserves along the river’s banks that deserve to be visited. First there’s the little Cold Valley near the village of Solto Collina at 360 metres of altitude where the plants and the flowers that are generally present at 1.500 metres of altitude grow. For the birdwatching lovers the peatland areas of Sebino are stretched along 360 hectares of cane fields and stretches of water covered by the water lilies where 17 dif-
Torbiere of the Sebino Andrea Belussi/Shutterstock.com
ferent species of birds like the reed warblers, the little grebes and the cukoos nest. You can’t miss the natural reserve Piramidi di Zone, where high soil columns of morainic soil stand out, they are 30 metres high and they are topped by huge stones that were created by the corrosive action of the water. The gorge of Bögn di Zorzino is particularly interesting too, it’s a rocky wall featured by high layers of limestone overlooking the lake.
Torbiere of the Sebino UMB-O/Shutterstock.com
National Park of Rock Carvings Aigars Reinholds/Shutterstock.com
Villages, traditions and works of art
T
he lake and its surroundings tell about a thousand-year-old history that is featured by some very ancient civilizations: the Camuni (the National Park of Rock Carvings of Naquane can’t be missed, it’s a site belonging to the Unesco’s Heritage). The exploration of the lake through the land can ideally start with visiting the Medieval village of Iseo, the ancient centre overlooked by the Oldofredi Castle and by the Parish Church of Saint Andrews. The lakefront in the nearby Pisogne is the best place to enjoy the colours of the sunset falling into the
water after admiring the frescos by Romanino, the painter from Brescia that are kept in the church of Santa Maria della Neve. Other works by the same artist can also be seen in Capriolo, Bienno and in Breno. A stop at Lovere can’t be missed, it’s one of the most beautiful villages of Italy thanks to its church of Santa Maria in Valvendra and the track that leads to the sanctuary of Saints Vincenza Gerosa and Bartolomea Capitanio. The Tadini Art Galley of Lovere deserves a visit too, some works by Antonio Canova are kept there.
Monte Isola Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Oldofredi Castle Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Lago d’Iseo davanti a Lovere Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Pier in Pisogne Legati Tiziano/Shutterstock.com
A lake to be discovered in the open air
Y
ou can walk along the sixty kilometres of the coastal road by the river banks, you can also cycle or ride your motorbike surrounded by breathless views and historical villages to be lived all year through. There are many interesting routes like the ancient Valeriana which connects the village of Pisogne with Pilzone along thirty kilometres in the forests that are sided by the old farmhouses; the old road Vello-Toline that runs along the lake and
the ring track around the villages of Lovere, Bossico and Ceratello, it’s a route featured by steep slopes that reach the shore in the province of Bergamo. Moreover there are many scheduled events in Summer to experience all the traditions related to the lake. The “Festival of casoncello (a type of filled pasta) is held in Castro, the “Week of tench” is held in Clusane and the “Bià del pes” is held in Monte Isola, they are two days dedicated to the marinated fish.
Zorzino Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock.com
BACK TO THE SUMMARY
In arrivo
LA MONTAGNA DA AMARE E DA SCOPRIRE
Tariffe agevolate presso impianti di risalita e strutture ricettive nelle migliori localitĂ di montagna.
www.ConvenzionIstituzioni.it PIU’ VALORE AL TUO LAVORO
Luca Sartori
twitter.com/LucaSartoriIT
Lake Trasimeno,
the little Sea of Umbria
Torre Trulli Stefano_Valeri/Shutterstock.com
I
t’s the little sea of Umbria, a huge stretch of water surrounded by an amazing set of hills. It’s the fourth biggest lake of Italy after lake Garda, lake Maggiore and lake Como and it’s also the biggest lake in Central Italy. It’s 6 meters deep, it doesn’t have a natural affluent an it’s mainly filled with rainwater and a few streams. It has been inhabited since the prehistoric Age and the famous battle between Hannibal’s
Reimar/Shutterstock.com
Carthaginian army and Gaio Flaminio’s Roman legions took place on its shores. The three biggest islands, Piolvese, Maggiore and Minore are surrounded by some historical villages that are featured by some old traditions. The “Festival Trasimeno Blues” is one of the most important events that are held in this area, it’s an opportunity to enjoy the local culture and the natural attractions of this basin.
Maggiore Island Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock.com
MilaCroft/Shutterstock.com
Carps and seagulls
T
he wide basin of lake Trasimeno combines the water and the land by hosting a wide range of species. It’s an area where the birds stop and it’s also an area where some important fish can be found. The surrounding landscape is featured by the cultivated fields, the forests, the villages overlooking the lake and the Medieval historical centers. It’s historically called “the lake of Perugia”, and its ecosystem is particularly fragile while its
shores are covered in marshes’ reeds. In the forests you can find the willow trees, the country elms and the black alders. The foxes, the boars, the hedgehogs and the shrews are the mammals that inhabit this area while the gear-eagles, the pheasants, the wigeons, the herons, the royal ducks and the seagulls are the main bird species. The tenches, the chubs, the carps and the pikes are the main types of fish that inhabit these waters.
Fabio Lotti/Shutterstock.com
Panorama from Castiglione del Lago REDMASON/Shutterstock.com
Polvese island PaoloBruschi/Shutterstock.com
The islands of art
T
he three islands surrounding the lake enrich the natural scenery. Polvese belongs to the Regional Park of Trasimeno and it’s featured by beautiful views like the Church of St. Giuliano, the remains of the Olivetana Church of St. Secondo and the fortress. Maggiore is the only inhabited island, it was one of Saint Francis’ favorite places who stopped here for his meditations during the Lent in 1211. The area of the dockings deserve a visit as well as the little church of San Salvatore, the remains of the little
Maggiore Island CarloDG/Shutterstock.com
church of San Salvatore and also the remains of the nunnery. You can’t miss the Roman ancient Tower, the church of Saint Michael the Archangel, the church of Saint Francis where his bedroll is kept, the Guglielmi castle and the wind mill. Minore has been called “the little Island” since the very beginning of the 20th century, it’s a private island and it can’t be visited. The municipality of Passignano sul Trasimeno isn’t inhabited too although several families lived there until the 15th century.
Panorama from Passignano su l Trasimeno elleon/Shutterstock.com
Medieval memories
F
rom Castiglione del Lago to Città della Pieve, from Paciano to Magione, from Passignano to Piegaro, from Panicale to Tuoro the little Sea of Umbria is spread with characteristic villages and medieval centers. The lake’s waters aren’t very deep and there are some villages that are rich of traditions and history. They are magic places that show the pure essence of this part of Italy. Four villages are listed in the most beautiful Italian villages’
club. You can take the ferry in Passignano and sail towards the islands where you can visit the Medieval fortress and the Doge’s Palace dating back to the 16th century where Niccolò Macchiavelli and Leonardo Da Vinci stayed, the rooms were painted by Pomarancio Paciano and the historical centre is still untouched. Panicale is one of the Touring’s orange flags, it features the Medieval castle, the ancient walls, the narrow streets and the little squares.
Passignano sul Trasimeno Claudiovidri/Shutterstock.com
Castiglione del Lago REDMASON/Shutterstock.com
Passignano sul Trasimeno Celli07/Shutterstock.com
Castiglioone del Lago Claudiovidri/Shutterstock.com
Fagiolina from Trasimeno Claudiovidri/Shutterstock.com
Pesci del Trasimeno drieshondebrinkfoto/Shutterstock.com
Fagiolina and fish soup
F
ish is the king of products on the tables. If you want to celebrate the local cuisine you can taste the rice with the white sauce and the perch fillet, the eel in the soup seasoned with the oil from the surrounding hills, the smoked eel, the fried fish. Oil is one of the typical products, it is produced in the wide olive groves from the hills overlooking the lake then there is the wine that is produced in an area that is rooted in the Etruscan Age, the saffron from CittĂ della Pieve
which is used in many recipes and the fagiolina from Trasimeno which belongs to the Slow Food Movement. It was already cultivated by the Greek and the Etruscan people, it’s a little legume used for the preparation of the traditional dishes as well as for the preparation of the new recipes. The handcrafted products also represent the peculiarity of this area of Umbria mainly the lace-making from the Island Maggiore, the iron objects and the pottery.
“Twister” by Michele Ciribifera, Castiglione del Lago REDMASON/Shutterstock.com
BACK TO THE SUMMARY
Lake Lesina, DI
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silence and poetry
Luca Sartori
twitter.com/LucaSartoriIT
Lesina TREKKINGLOVER/Shutterstock.com
Francesca Sciarra/Shutterstock.com
Lesina robypangy/Shutterstock.com
L
ake Lesina and its basin aren’t Puglia with its white houses, the clear blue sea and the Baroque style. It’s set between the law-land of Puglia and the Gargano ridge. The colors are softer and the places are filled with poetry, the nature matches the quiet areas where time slowly goes by. It’s a 22 kilometers long stretch of water and it’s only 2 kilometers wide. Lake Lesina is the second biggest lake in Southern
Italy, many streams reach it but it is also enriched with the underground water and the rainwater. It’s less than one meter deep and it’s connected to the sea by two artificial canals, Acquarotta and Schiapparo that mix the salt water from the Adriatic Sea with the sweet water by creating a marshy environment which is very important for the development of the whole basin.
The capital city of the lagoon
L
esina is the main town in this area and its roots can be set back to the Roman Age when this territory was called Alexina. It was a County belonging to the Duchy of Benevento then it was founded again by the Dalmatian fishermen so the first refugees from the nearby Lucera started to arrive in this area since they were escaping from the Emperor Constans II then the refugees coming from the archipelago of Tremiti landed there after eight centuries. It’s set on the Southern shore of the lake but in the past it was set on the narrow stretch of land
between the sea and the lake, the earthquakes, the flooding and the malaria pushed the inhabitants to move to the peninsula where the village started to develop. Lesina is an important tourist destination in Northern Puglia nowadays, it’s one of the widest lagoons in the Mediterranean area. It’s a quiet place with a protected natural environment where the eel fishing is one of the main activities and the eel is one of the products belonging to the Slow Food Movement. Marina di Lesina is a popular seaside destination along the coastline.
Francesca Sciarra/Shutterstock.com
Francesca Sciarra/Shutterstock.com
Cattedrale di Lesina robypangy/Shutterstock.com
Francesca Sciarra/Shutterstock.com
The aquarium and the museums
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esina can also be discovered through its museums, the Ethnographic museum and the Natural History Museum where you can see a beautiful aquarium. The ethnographic museum is called “the fisherman’s house”, it keeps some different objects that tell about the human presence in this area. It was arranged thanks to the support of the citizens who gave many objects in order to exhibit the local culture, the traditions,
the experiences related to the trading and the local lifestyle that has always been deeply related to the land and the water. The Natural History Museum exhibits the local nature, the dioramas of the flowers and the animals, the botanical garden which is called “the herbal route” which enables the visitors to go deep into the features of this territory, better visit the aquarium and learn about the different species of fish.
Eels and salicornia
T
he eel is the Queen of tables, it’s used to prepare many dishes from the local traditions. The eel soup is one of the traditional dishes, the eel is cooked with the tomatoes, the salt, the pepper, the warmed vegetables and it can be served on toasted bread. Another specialty is the “scapece di anguilla di Lesina”, it seems Frederick II of Swabia particularly liked it, it’s made by using roasted or fried eels that are kept in olive oil. Another typical product from
this area is the “salicornia” also known as the sea asparagus, it has been entered into the ”Official book of the typical food products from Puglia” thanks to the typical recipe of salicornia in oil. The tables of Lesina are a triumph of colors and tastes, from the extra-virgin olive oil to the wild vegetables, the seafood, the handmade pasta, the bread, the tasty bruschetta (grilled bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil), the caponata and the pancotto.
Giado/Shutterstock.com
FEDERICO DESSARDO/Shutterstock.com
Fotonazario/Shutterstock.com
Pink flamingos and mountain bikes
I
f you visit Lesina you can’t miss a boat trip on the lake. You can get the most from the landscape by sailing and admiring the village overlooking the peninsula. You can also sail around the islet of San Clemente where the ruins of an ancient Roman villa dating back to the 2nd/1st century BC have been found. There are animals and plants on this islet, it’s a stop for the migration of birds like the pink flamingos, the cormorants and the red
Dancar/Shutterstock.com
herons Another place that can’t be missed is Bosco Isola, the stretch of land between the canals that separates the lagoon from the sea, it’s heaven for the trekking lovers but also for the mountain bike lovers who have a beautiful cycle route at their disposal. You can also enjoy the nature by practicing the bird-watching as well as taking advantage of the many places where you can taste the delicious local food from the Gargano area.
Fotonazario/Shutterstock.com
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#arteborghi
standing art
#arteborghi standing art
A
ntonio Fraddosio’s commitment for the environment is “sometimes great and immense”, it’s an explosion of the soul against the environment deterioration. This is the strong artistic message of the sculptor Antonio Fraddosio (Barletta, 1951) who states that “the art and any creative expression must not disregard the spiritual values». These are the words of an artist who calls himself a campaigner for whom “making a work of art in this historical age is mainly a political action, it’s the reaction against the globalized economic and financial power that
forces us into a servile condition». So the installation “the coveralls and the steel” (Modern Art Gallery, Rome; 1st November 2018 – 3rd March 2019) has arised the attention about the environmental issue of Ilva of Taranto and the personal involvment of the artist is evident in his installation: «My memories of Taranto before Italsider are clear and they are still alive in my mind. Taranto was a wonderful city, laying between two seas (…) there were many colours and tastes that don’t exist anymore (…) it was a city of golden stones».
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
The Ilva case
«I
arrived from Martina Franca, Antonio Fraddosio continues to tell his stoy, Taranto wasn’t there anymore. I saw the hell of fire and smoke. The biggest European steel plant had eaten the city». The artist’s words are touching and his works are intense: «My work doesn’t simply implies the condemnation of the environment problem but it also aims at showing its original causes».According to a quote by Gabriele Simongini (Catalogue GAM Rome) the “ten big broken folded powerful and mysterious plates featured by poisonous lethal colours that get their inspiration from the rust layers, the heavy reddish
dust, the brown and black shades that wrap the city” come out of this will. The plates are compared with the workers’ coverall hung outside the showers’ area after the workig shift, they show the shape of their body and convey the feelings of pain, death and destruction. The artist’s work has a great impact because of his strong ideals, he states: «My installation is dedicated to the very serious consequences of the envornmental degradation on the territory and on the people» but an hopeful vision can even come out by reporting this terrible disaster represented by these broken folded plates.
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
The universal themes
T
he artist tells about his artistic development: «I have come to that after a group of works that obsrved the overall situation in the last decades». “The coveralls and the steel” belongs to a group of works called “What’s left of development” but there are also other universal themes taken into account in Antonio Fraddosio’s works. He had already started the cycle “Social animal” in the 1990s that took inspiration from the existential condition of the contemporary humankind followed by the cycle “The construction of
destruction” that underlined the dramatic effects of a boundless crisis that features the human tragedies. In this work the artist highlights the idea of “constructed destruction”: «the chaotic image of this work (broken, stuck materials, so tight they may break down) is the outcome of a careful construction. The same can be said to describe the real and systematic destruction of the environment which is carried out through the implementation of a specific strategy aiming at getting the highest economic profits».
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
#arteborghi standing art
A
ntonio Fraddosio keeps telling about his artistic development: the cycles “Resisting beyond” are inspired by some important people who fought for the ideals of freedom and “Saving ourselves from the shipwreck” focues on the theme of the big exodus of people in the world that is analysed as a deportation. In 2011 he was a guest at the 54th Venice International Film Festival at the Italian pavillon where he exhibited his core work “The black flag in the suspended cage”. The artist stated: «It’s
a big torn petrified waving flag. The black colour symbolizes the highest visionary type of democracyh: anarchy. That flag is not waving anymore, it’s closed inside a suspended cage that enables very few stiff movement through its gear. Instead a flag should be light and free. After all, this is the main consquence of the power: slowly destroying the true nature of the human beings». (Original texts freely taken from an interview with the artist by Carmelita Brunetti).
#arteborghi standing art
Human kind and freedom
BACK TO THE SUMMARY
Carola Traverso Saibante
Lakes, the water of delights
S_Photo/Shutterstock.com
Lakes, the water of delights
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ake’s eyes, water pupils that watch you through the trees’ eyelashes. Sweet eyes contemplating the surrounding landscapes. Mouths trying unusual tastes like the ones of the fish that have never seen the sea. The white fish is a fine fish belonging to the Salmonidi species. Where can you eat it? In one of the wonderful villages overlooking lake Bracciano in Lazio along the panoramic route that surrounds it. The white fish is called “coreghone” here, it’s generally roasted and flavou-
red with parsley, salt, lemon and olive oil that are put inside it. A good wine is never missing with a good fish, not necessarily white. Let’s taste the wine from lake Caldaro, the widest stretch of water in the province of Bolzano. The Kalterersee is a DOP “allrounder” to be served at 10 degrees of temperature. The historical cooperative Kaltern represents all the producers of this area to be discovered together with its wines like the Quintessenz and the Leuchtenberg.
Lago Caldaro Sergio Monti Photography/Shutterstock.com
Lakes, the water of delights
Lavarello Katoosha/Shutterstock.com
Lakes, the water of delights Essicatura dei pesci sul lago di Iseo Nico3232/Shutterstock.com
In a sun lake L
ake Como is green-blue midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Alpine areas. In the area of the Baroque village of Tremezzo the food tradition is represented by the “missoltini”, a quite difficult preparation of the dried fish that belongs to the Slow Food Movement. The favourite fish are the agoni, they are very rich in Omega3 that don’t disappear even when the fish is dried. They are kept in layers covered in bay leaves in the ‘missolta’. When the time to taste them comes they are put on the
grill; the hot ones are pickled in oil, vinegar, parsley and garlic and they are served with toasted polenta and red wine. A huge edged green mountain comes up from the lake’s water: we are still in Lombardy but it’s another lake. Lake Iseo and its Montisola island which is the biggest lake island of Italy. An amazing place that perfectly matches the villages’ sustainability as well as its typical products. Starting with the dried fish mainly the sardine that are kept in wooden containers that are called ‘tole’.
Lakes, the water of delights
Agoni Scisetti Alfio/Shutterstock.com
Lakes, the water of delights
Tasting darts W
hich is the most darting fish? The eel? That’s right. You won’t run away this time since it’s time to taste it if you have never done it before! White houses in Puglia as opposed to the deep blue sea of Lesina which is a lake full of fish and the protagonists are the eels. The female ones are big and they are called capitoni. They are cooked in a way that is called ‘in scapece’ and they are considered a Traditional Food Product of the area in the province of
Andrea Mingaroni/Shutterstock.com
Foggia. They can be fried or pickled in the vinegar. Eels are a must by the lake Bolsena too, it’s one of the most beautiful lakes of Italy, it’s a volcanic lake and it’s the biggest of Europe in the High Tuscia in Lazio. Eels are also bred here, their soft and savoury meat can be tasted in many different ways, they can be roasted, they can be stewed, they can be cooked with vernaccia or in the “cacciatore” way. The capitoni are generally smoked.
Lakes, the water of delights Alessio Orru/Shutterstock.com
Lakes, the water of delights
Not just fish L
akes offer some specialities that can also be found on the land. The Fagiolina from Trasimeno for instance is a local legume from this lake in Umbria set nearby some very old villages and three islands. The humid soil and the climate of this area enable the growing of this local product, it’s a very small cream coloured seed. It belongs to the Slow Food Movement, you can simply taste it with a little extra-virgin oil, with salt and pepper or in a soup with truffles.
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Lakes, the water of delights
The lake of Matese in the Regional Park of Campania is surrounded by mountain areas and calcareous rocks, beech trees forests and unspoilt fields where the cows are free and the production of cheese is very good. The ‘scamorzine’, the stracciatelle and the caciocavallo cheese from the tiny village of San Gregorio Matese must be tasted, it’s a timeless village, they produce high quality milk just like the one we used to drink a long time ago…
Laghi, specchio di bontĂ Bellano, Lake Como JohnKruger/Shutterstock.com
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Laghi, specchio di bontà
Nicoletta Toffano
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Oltreconfine: Crossborder: Finland Francia
Finland,
the villages surrounded by the water
Rauma Mikko Lemola/Shutterstock.com
F
inlandia is a country with strong contrasts, the light and the dark, the land and the water, the technology and the nature. One third of the nation is considered a protected area thanks to its 40 National parks that are spread along the whole country. It’s a landscape where you can experience the nature in a comprehensive way, visit the typical villages that are set in peculiar environments that are maily featured by the lakes. Our journey from the Baltic costlines of Lapponia shows us the main facets of Finland: it’s an anthropological, geographical and cultural
phenomemon. The history of this geographical area is related to the trades especially the ones that were carried out by the Southern villages that were completely made of wood in the past. One of the most untouched is Rauma, it overlooks the gulf of Botnia and it was enetered into the list of the Unesco’s Heritage. In its oldest part around the church of Santa Croce there are hundreds of tiny pastel coloured houses dating back to the 18th and the 19th century that have become nice cafés, art galleries or workshops dedicated to the production of the bobbin laces.
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Rauma Igor Grochev/Shutterstock.com
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Zabotnova Inna/Shutterstock.com
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The sweet Porvoo
M
oving towards the East 50 kilometres from Helsinki you can find Porvoo, it’s a caharcteristic village founded in the 13th century and it was one of the most strategic harbpurs of Northern Europe for the fur trade. The best way to reach this place from the main city is going through an interesting route that crosses some islands by an historical boat dating back to 1912. The old district is overlooked by the Gothic cathedral and it’s crossed by the river Porvoonjoki, there are paved narrow streets and tiny red houses that
Omri Eliyahu/Shutterstock.com
were used as warehouses for the dried fish, the coffe and the spice and they have become nice cafés and workshops in recent times. Besides its historical interest Porvoo is also famous for the production of sweets mainly the chocolate flavoured with the Finnisch salt liquirice and also for the production of a partuclar round cake with jam and raspberries decorations that is served in the typical cafés that is dedicated to Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Finnish poet and writer who lived in Porvoo in the 19th century.
Porvoo Omri Eliyahu/Shutterstock.com
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Lake Saimaa Aleksey Stemmer/Shutterstock.com
The region of lakes
I
f you go up towards the centre of Finland you’ll see a territory featured by a labyrinth of lakes, islands and canals, forests and slopes that stretch for hundreds kilometres. There are many ways to experinece these stretches of water, it’s headen for the kayak and ice-skaying lovers or you can go on a trip aboard a steam ship from lake Saimaa to the Gulf of Finland. The little cities of this regions are often equipped with strongholds and castles that witness the troubles of its borders. The fortress Linnoitus in Lappeenranta was first built by the Swedish people the it was finished by the Russian in 1774 when this area was given to the
Empire of zars. There are many museums nowadays and the Cafè Majurska is located in the former Officers’ Club’s buildings, you can sip a glass of Mannerheim, the typical sparkling wine from this area. Another unmissable stop in this region of lakes is Savolinna with its castle of Olavinlinna dating back to the 15th century that is perched on a little island facing the harbour and Retrettinwith with its modern modern art gallery that is set in some undergound caves also deserves a vist. The neraby village of Kerimäki deserves a visit too, it features the biggest wooden church in the world.
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Castel of Olavinlinna Karasev Victor/Shutterstock.com
Lake Saimaa Ekaterina/Shutterstock.com
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Jyväskylä, the capital city of design
J
yväskylä is in the heart of the region of lakes, it can be considered a museum in the open air: the architect Alvar Aalto worked here, he was one of the Msters of the Modern Movement, he theorized th organic architefture that is the harmony between what is built and the natural elements. In this little town 37 buildings are a sort of personal exhibition by the artist. Among the most paculiar “works” there is the workers’ club, an early work that took inspiration from the shapes of the Italian Renaissance, the university and the city theatre, the Keski-suomen
Mariia Golovianko/Shutterstock.com
Museum dedicated to Central Finland and the Alvar Aalto Museo that exhibits projects and more than 1.500 design objects by this artist. In the nearby village of Muurame you can see the white church that was designed by Aalto in the 1920s, you can visit the Museum of Saunas where some saunas built from the projects dating back to the 17th and 19th century are exhibited. The sauna is a real must in Finland and there are more than three million including the public ones and the private ones that is one every two Finnish people!
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Heading towards Lapponia
T
he Finnish railway is a pride of this country, it’s very wide and enables you to reach Lapponia and visit Kemi, 11 hours by train from Helsinki. This little town is the starting point for the Winter cruises on the icebreaker Sampo. You can spend a special night at Lumi Linna, an amazing ice hotel that is built every year and it melts down at the end of April. If you go towards the North you’ll find Inari in the far distant Lapponia where you can go by coach. It’s a tiny village inhabited by the Sami people, the natives
whose culture is told at the Museum Siida. The village is feautured by some beautiful workshops whose uniqueness is guaranteed by the Samiduodji brand, it overlooks lake Inarinjärvi which is spread with more than three thousand islands many of which can be reached by the seaplane. You can leave from here on your excursions towards the natural Reserve of Kevo: it’s a heaven of rare plants species and wild animals and there is also a tectonic canjon which is one of the most unspoilt places in the wolrd.
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Lumi Linna Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock.com
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Antonella Andretta
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e c a l p out of
S Y A D I HOL These unknown rivers
R
ivers are a metaphor of thousands of ideas: the flow of life, the patience of waiting, the way to a goal but they are also the cradles of civilizations, they are important landmarks of landscapes, geographical elements and the counterparts of rivers are the lakes in this case. In these pages the rivers are the places of leisure time and vacation, they are sometimes forgotten in favour of other destinations.
Landscape of The Po Delta River underworld/Shutterstock.com
OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS
These unknown rivers
Delta del Po cristian ghisla/Shutterstock.com
Marano Lagoon davidephotonature/Shutterstock.com
A
ctually there are many interesting hints related to them from the North to the South. Let’s start with the cruises along the rivers on board of the floating houses and although this type of slow tourism is less popular in Italy rather than in France or Holland the people who rent the houseboats for which they don’t need the boating license are increasing in number in our country as well. The most of the river routes are in the North of Italy mainly along the canals that cross Lombardy in the area of Mantua, along the Po Delta, in Veneto
and Friuli and there are different levels of difficulty. The lagoons are among the most liked environments since they cross the canals, the sluices and enable you to go from the river Stella to the lagoon of Marano (Udine) then reach Bibione and Caorle up to Jesolo and enter the Venetian lagoon and finally land in Burano. You can cover this route in a week and you can stop in the most beautiful villages (during your excursions you can moor your houseboat in the different landing places indicated along the routes). If you think you aren’t great
These unknown rivers
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Burano waku/Shutterstock.com
at sailing your houseboat you can chose an organized cruise: many different routes are offered like the tour of the Brenta area where you can see beautiful villas or the routes around Chioggia, Comacchio and Venice. From the North towards the South you can reach Tuscany where there are many swimming rivers. Among the different beaches that are spread around we suggest you to swim in the Arno river near Stia (Arezzo) mainly in the river park Canto alla Rana where there are two pools that can easily be used by children as well: not far from there you can find a restaurant where
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These unknown rivers
Ponte Buriano, Arezzo Marco Taliani de Marchio/Shutterstock.com
you can eat after a walk along the shady paths. If you are in Tuscany you can’t miss the thermal sources where you can enter free of charge: Sasso Pisano (in Castelnuovo in the Cecina Valley), Petriolo (between Siena and Grosseto), Bagni San Filippo (Siena) up to the very famous Saturnia Thermal Baths (Grosseto), the natural show is assured and the hot bath in the open air in the natural pools is always great. After relaxing at the Thermal Baths you can go towards the South and boost your adrenaline by going rafting in the rivers of Calabria: in the National Park of Pollino in the ri-
Bagni di San Filippo Krisztian Juhasz/Shutterstock.com
These unknown rivers
OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS
OUT VACANZE OF PLACE FUORI HOLIDAYS POSTO
I fiumiunknown These questi sconosciuti rivers
Rafting on river Lao Dionisio iemma/Shutterstock.com
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In Kayak on river Coghinas andscapespecialist/Shutterstock.com
ver Lao’s valley there are many opportunities to enjoy an exciting experience in the unspoilt nature surrounded by crystal clear water. The park also offers other attractions and it keeps unspoilt landscapes and many water streams: if you leave from Fosso Iannace you can start walking along a path that is crossed by wooden bridges. The trekking lovers can walk for a couple of hours and reach the source of the river Pitt Accurc’ and go as far as Basilicata to see the sanctuary of the Madonna of Pollino which is set in the territory of San Severino Lucano. Last but not least is Sardinia if you fancy a quiet birdwatching at the mouth
of the river Coghinas in Valledoria: a local operator (Alta Bhanda) offers a beautiful excursion by a pontoon boat (a flat large boat) upriver for around seven kilometres. During your excursion you’ll be able to see many birds and other animals like the grey heron, the egret, the marsh harrier and the lake turtles: the birdwatching can be restless especially in Spring since this is an important area for the birds’ migration. The environment around the river’s mouth is really charming especially at sunset among the cane fields and the sand dunes that separate the quiet river environment from the wild water of the Asinara Gulf.
These unknown rivers
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Ivan Pisoni
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Legends Of loves and lakes
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Legends of loves and lakes
The legend of love between Agilla and Trasimeno O
n the shores of lake Trasimeno whose shape may remind the one of a heart for the most romantic ones the wonderful nymph Agilla used to live. She was madly in love with the prince Trasimeno who was king Tyrrhenian’s son. Once the nymph sang a mellow song which attracted her beloved one to the middle of the lake by the island Polvese. When Trasimeno saw her he fell in love, he could hardly convince his father to give his blessing for the wedding and
Lago Trasimeno Gimas/Shutterstock.com
he was successful in the end although their love was fated to tragedy. After just one day while the beautiful Agilla was looking at him from the shore and Trasimeno disappeared in the lake’s water. Agilla looked for him for days and days, she checked the seabed, the shores and the surface of the huge basin. The desperate nymph has been looking for her beloved Trasimeno since then by singing a mallow song at Summer nights and she hopes she will find him one day.
Lake Monate Gianandrea Villa/Shutterstock.com
The legend of Bianca and the birth of lake Monate was crying. So Bianca had to beg for mercy but the squire refused and said “your wicked mum can die of thirst”. Bianca was desperate and she made an evel spell against the squire who would be thirsty for all eternity. From that moment on a strong wind caused a terrible storm and a lot of water started to come out from the castle’s pit and the whole manor and its surrounding area were flooded. After the terrible storm the lake of Monate was born. No one dare crossing the lake’s whirlpools…. they say it’s the cursed squire who can’t appease his thirst from the depth of the lake.
Legends of loves and lakes
B
ianca was really beautiful. Her beauty could be compared with her love for a soldier who was fighting at the front. Bianca lived with her old mother near Usmate. Once the local squire saw Bianca and he fell in love with her but the girl didn’t want to hear. Her reaction made him very angry and he communicated his people he would behead whoever tried to give water to Bianca. The brave girl used to reach the source of Monteggia every day to fetch the water for her and for her mum but her mum got sick and the water she could get was not enough. Her mother used to say “I’m thirsty” while she
Legends of loves and lakes Lake Tovel gualtiero boffi/Shutterstock.com
The legend of the red lake of Tovel and princess Tresenga T
here’s a lake in the Non Valley that used to turn bright red every Summer until 1964. The legend goes that it was the beautiful princess Tresenga’s blood. She was the King of Ragoli’s only daughter. She was really beautiful and everyone longed for her but she used to refuse all marriage proposals in order
to avoid the Kingdom to fall in foreign hands. Lavinio was the king of Tuenno, he used to send her precious gifts but she always refused them. He got very angry because of the insult so he declared war against the kingdom of Ragoli to force Tresenga to marry him but the brave princess became the commander
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of her little army to face the kingdom’s enemies. It was a really tough fight and the princess resisted until the end, she proved her bravery but she finally died and her blood turned lake Tovel’s water into the red colour. They say that her
Legends of loves and lakes
Lake Tovel BNFWork/Shutterstock.com
spirit is still wondering around whispering. Anyway there’s a scientific reason for this phenomenon: the red colour was produced by an alga that used to grow in Summer by giving the lake its red colour.
Ivan Pisoni
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Did you know that...
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Did you know that... lake curiosities
O
ther than Loch Ness... Lake Como has got its own monster too. They fondly call him Larrie, the “mystery from lake Lario”, it has made the news since 1946. In 1954 someone reported the sight of a 80 metres long creature with four webbed feet and a round face and tail. A huge eel that was more than 10 metres long had also been sighted. Is it a mystery? Is it true? I suggest you visiting the castle of Vezio to check a particular clue.
Lake Como COLOMBO NICOLA/Shutterstock.com
I
n Pettenasco there’s a huge sling to throw the dragons’ eggs into Lake Orta. This installation is called ”Vers l’autre côté” by Roselyne Erutti and it is commonly called “sling”, it’s located at the bottom of the southern part of the lake’s promenade. It seems it is used to throw the dragon’s eggs into the lake to “increase the number of dragons”...
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S
wimming in the lake is much different than swimming in the sea. It is proved that it’s much more tiring to swim in the lake’s water rather than swimming in the sea water. In the sea the higher density of salt water enables the floating. Moreover swimming in the lakes is also more difficult and more dangerous because of the presence of whirlpools that can’t be seen on the surface.
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L
ake Garda claims the “Giants’ mufflers”. Its is near Torbole where we can see some huge pits that are around five metres wide and 12 metres deep: the atmosphere is similar to the moon’s one. The name comes from the popular imagination according to which these pits already existed during the ice Age more than 130.000 years ago: thanks to the finding of fine pottery and some arrows’ edges we can state that the Giants’ mufflers were inhabited during the Prehistoric Age.
FilippoPH/Shutterstock.com
T
Jurik Peter/Shutterstock.com
F
ucino is the former third widest lake in Italy. Fucino was a lake in the Marsica area in Abruzzo. It was drained off in the second half of the 19th century by the prince Alessandro Raffaele Torlonia since the irregular level of its water caused many floods and unhealthy shoals. The Roman Emperor Claudius (52 A.D) had already tried to solve the problem. Nowadays Fucino is divided into 46 roads but they say that the output of the combination of these opposing roads is always the number 50.
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Did you know that... lake curiosities
here are also two italian lakes on… Titan! They are lake Bolsena and lake Albano, two among the most famous Italian lakes of Central Italy that are also present on distant Saturn’s satellite. Actually Titan is the only body of our solar system claiming two liquid basins but because of the very high temperature of around 180 degrees below zero these basins don’t contain water but they contain the ethane.
Review
Resto qui (I’ll stay here) by Marco Balzano
T
here’s a lake, an old village, an arising church that can still survive despite all. “Resto qui” by Marco Bolzano is a really good novel: it’s Italy with its villages that arise again, the past that hasn’t been totally swept away, history that is still talking to our difficult present time. In Curon in the autonomous province of Bolzano they must make an artificial lake for the production of the electric power. So all the inhabitants must leave their stories and their houses. It’s 1950 and although the inhabitants’ protests the lake “must be made”. Around this real story the imagery around Bolzano takes over. The novel was published
by Einaudi in 2018 and it soon began a best-seller. It is said that the only memory of that unlucky event is the church’s bell tower which is still there while the church of Santa Caterina was put down as well as the rest of the village. The history is flooded by the oblivion. So here comes the heroic resistance (or resilience?) of the protagonist, a man who is bound to his origins and strongly fights the change although his actions proves useless. A documentary movie was also shot about this story by Georg Lembergh, “The sunken village”. Balzano tells about the anthropological and familiar village’s daily life. It’s set in Alto Adige where the name of villages and even the dead people’ tombstones have become Italian. The characters in the novel also fight against this social reality and this imposition. The memories and the strength come together in these pages that catch the readers’ attention and create a spirit of sympathy between the readers and the protago-
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Marino Pagano
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nists around this needed protection. Balzano can describe these changes in a balanced way without giving in to the rhetorical analysis or to the myth of the romantic nostalgy. They are soft swe-
et pages that remind of words coming from the past when everything was easier while the time is going by without the right respect for those who came before us.
Review
The old bell tower in the lake of Resia, Curon MC MEDIASTUDIO/Shutterstock.com
