Would you like to explore Grotto Grassi and its surrounding area with me? My son and I went there a few weekends ago and it was a fascinating excursion! Let's go!
What is a Grotto?
The word grotto most often refers to a naturally or artificially occurring cave. In Ticino, the southern canton of Switzerland, it refers to a typical old eatery.
A view of the town of Riva San Vitale and the lake of Lugano taken from the edge of the grotto
You can Check out another typical grotto in the first of this series here:
The Old Dog Explores: An Ancient Tree at a Typical Grotto
The Grottos of Ticino
Grotto refers to rustic establishments, which are most often in remote, shaded areas. They have big open spaces for eating outside on tables and benches below the trees. They usually serve locally produced and home-made products.
Would You Like To Visit Grotto Grassi In Tremona?
Not only does Grotto Grassi have a spectacular view but the original quaintness of the grotto has been maintained. The grotto lies in the forest on the hills of the UNESCO world heritage site of Monte San Giorgio which is home to the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period!
To get to the grotto you can park in Tremona and it is then a 10 minute walk, first through vineyards and then through thick forest. Once there you can enjoy a spectacular panorama of the lake of Lugano which you see above!
Tremona is that fascinating town where I was so intrigued by the artwork of Tazio Marti:
The Old Dog Asks: Did One Artist Really Beautify an Entire Town?
Check Out What We Saw On The Way There!
The work of the artist Tazio Marti adorned a few homes on our way to Tremona. Here are some pictures:
This mural of his is enormous. You can see the detail in the photo below!
In the bottom left is the typical burned out match that he has in many of his paintings
As we got closer to the town we spotted this one! It's amazing how much 3D effect he gets in his work!
We saw this one as we passed by the cemetery just outside Tremona.
We encountered this huge parabolic dish within the area of the town. Apparently it was an old military radio transmitter.
Near The Grotto Was The Very Interesting Tremona-Castello Archaeological Park
Excavation at this site has been carried on since the year 2000 after some very old coins were found at that location. Before that the towns people had no idea what lay under the hill above their village!
At the site apprentice bricklayers work with archaeologists in restoring some of the discovered walls.
We sat on these ancient walls to have a picnic lunch before heading to the grotto for a coffee!
Here are a few photos from Ticino.ch that show what they've rebuilt and what it must have looked like in Medieval times:
An areal view of the archeological site!
What they suppose that it looked like in its heyday!
Finally It was Time To Stop At The Grotto!
After all of that exploring it was time to visit the grotto and have a panache (Beer and Ginger Ale) and a nice Italian coffee!
The Old Dog heads over to order some drinks. You can see a bocce court on the left.
The other end of the bocce court ends with the view of the lake!
This is the inside of the grotto. Grotto's are very simple places that serve simple but typical dishes!
When it comes to a Grotto it's more about the setting than the building. This one is rather remote, in the forest and has a view of the lake. Fabulous!
What Do You Think?
- Are there some typical restaurants whee you live?
- Is the setting to you as important as the building itself?
I hope that you enjoyed this trip to Grotto Grassi!
Until next time,
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