Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore are sandwiched between mountains in this part of Italian Switzerland.
It is a miracle the size of a postage stamp! Switzerland itself is tiny and the Ticino region is only 6% of it so if you were in a fast car you could miss it. But you are unlikely to be in a fast car because the area is all up and down and around. Up and down the mountains and valleys and around Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore. Its slopes are not as lofty or as freakish as the nearby Alps themselves, but they are spectacular to the point of dramatic and strikingly beautiful. The canton is the southernmost one of Switzerland, bordering on Italy and the local language is Italian. Being only 100 miles from the Mediterranean, and in sight of the Swiss Alps it is a unique link between southern and northern Europe, between dolce vita and Swiss propriety. An example of this is that it is one of the few places in the world where you can ski past palm trees.
Down by the lakes on a hot summer day, the water takes on the vivid azure and turquoise reminiscent of the Caribbean.
The majority of its tourist trade is still Swiss with people from Berne, Geneva and Zurich taking the opportunity to enjoy fairy tale castles, vineyards, and Italian cooking and culture, without having to give up on Swiss efficiency, or without having to give up on winter ski-ing. In the tiny area of the canton, ski-ing is available at all of 12 runs.
The region is covered with paths and trails for hiking and hill walking and there are special routes for cycling . On the lakes there is sailing, water ski-ing, and windsurfing and swimming is safe at any time of the year. There is even golf at spectacular courses in Ascona, Magliaso and Losone.
The principal towns of the region are the renowned resorts of Ascona, Bellinzona, Locarno and Lugano.
Ascona
Situated on Lake Maggiore, Ascona is today an upmarket get-away-from-everything kind of place. Swiss bankers enjoy the lake by day and the Italian lifestyle by night and appreciate hotels in which everything works. But it was first put on the map a hundred years ago by what was the early-1900’s version of hippies and the new age people of the time. Monte Verita (The Hill of Truth) was the home of what we would today call communes of young people rebelling against convention and seeking to set up a new way of living. Carl Jung and James Joyce and other luminaries of the period joined in with the crowd who saw nudism (in summer) as the way forward.
During the day the promenade is popular for, would you believe, promenading and in the centre is a picturesque little harbour. From here you can take a ferry down the lake to Italy. Only the top third of Lake Maggiore is in Switzerland and the rest of it is in Italy and the ferry has to go only a few hundred metres to get to Cannobio or Cannero in Italy. There are even islands in the middle of the lake (Isola Grande and Brissago) where you can disembark to explore.
From early evening to late, late, late the tree-lined promenade is the focus of Ascona, with its many restaurants and bars.
Locarno
Almost adjoining Ascona is Locarno with its old town of cobbled alleyways. It is busy with visitors from the German-speaking north and with Italians escaping from the smog of Milan, to the place which boasts the most sunshine hours per annum in the whole of Switzerland. Its attractions are highlighted by its location on a broad, sweeping curve of Lake Maggiore.
Bellinzona
Just up from the lake and still in Ticino is what I think is the most surprising and exciting place of all in the canton – Bellinzona. I say surprising because it is almost unknown but it is a Unesco World Heritage Site nestling in a valley between incredibly beautiful steep slopes which house three mediaeval castles. The small town itself is lined with trees and has its own castle now made into a museum. But the main castle, Castelgrande, like the others, is on a mountain top complete with ramparts, a cobbled courtyard and breathtaking views. It can be reached by a strenuous walk up the path but the less energetic can take the funicular car from the edge of town up to the castle walls.
Whereas Ascona 100 years ago was the magnet for the young counter-culture of Europe, at around the same time the allure and tranquillity of Bellinzona attracted and enthralled many of the leading poets, novelists and painters of the day. Herman Hesse, the Nobel Prize winner, made this his home and James Joyce was an enraptured visitor. Turner, the British artist, spent a good deal of his time painting watercolours of Bellinzona’s castles and Ticino’s captivating mountain scenery and they can be seen today in the Tate Britain in London.
Lugano
A few miles due south of Bellinzona lies the beautiful Lake Lugano, still in Ticino, and at the top end of it is situated the wonderful town of Lugano itself.
The setting is a lively town with a Mediterranean climate, overlooking the lake and surrounded by imposing mountains. It has one of the biggest pedestrian areas in the country and you can saunter through traffic-free streets filled with shops and smart cafes. The Via Nassa area, which runs parallel to the lake shore and which leads to Piazza della Riforma, the town’s main square, is the purlieu of the gold credit card with Fendo, Ferri, Gucci and Moschino wares everywhere.
If this is not your scene you can go for a swim off the sandy shore at the Lido, or visit a vineyard where they grow Merlot grapes and make white, red and sparkling wines, or take a trip up Monte San Salvatore on the funicular railway.
At night there is a sophisticated nightlife and that example of the Mediterranean overcoming Swiss propriety – a lavish casino. There is also an abundance of good restaurants with an Italian slant, with plenty of pasta and Merlot and Grappa to wash it down with. Entirely local to the area are the ubiquitous chestnuts and walnuts. They make, and the restaurants serve, purees, jam, cakes and even bread from chestnuts and the delicious liqueur, Noccino, is made from local walnuts.
The whole of Ticino is close to Italy and the Swiss there use the Italian language but they are proud of it being a special part of Switzerland with its own individual history and culture. Some say it is Italy made in Switzerland.