Reaching Lugano, with its splendid lake and its frame of mountains dotted with vegetation in intense and relaxing colors, is not so difficult. The town of Canton Ticino, in Switzerland, which recognizes Italian as its official language, is a very popular tourist destination.
But the entire area is very interesting both from a naturalistic point of view and from that of traditions. In Lugano, Italians, and especially Lombards, gladly come for a Sunday outing, to feast their eyes on sparkling shop windows, savor the atmosphere of old and new neighborhoods, take romantic boat trips or ride the funicular to Monte San Salvatore or Monte Bré, from where the view is fantastic.
1 What to see in Lugano
A short walk in the old town allows you to admire the 13th-century Cathedral of San Lorenzo, which underwent several renovations between the 13th and 15th centuries (the facade, for example, is in Lombard Renaissance style) and Piazza della Riforma, which are the main focal points. The adjacent Piazza Rezzonico opens generously onto the lake, right in front of the pier and is dominated by the 19th-century mass of the Town Hall. The walk can continue along the famous Via Nassa, parallel to the lakeside, whose left side is lined with arcades; here, lovers of watches, jewelry, and all kinds of luxury shopping have plenty to feast their eyes on and lighten their wallets. The street then leads to Piazza Luini, where the 16th-century Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli rises, adorned with a soaring Romanesque bell tower, which inside houses some of Bernardino Luini’s most famous paintings, a pupil of Leonardo.
2 Lugano and Art
Art lovers can make a stop at the eighteenth-century Palazzo Riva, to admire the masterpieces of the Cantonal Museum of Art, which brings together works by artists not only from Ticino, but also Swiss and foreign artists (Renoir, Carrà, Pissarro, Klee, Kandinsky, Degas, Sironi). Or at Villa Favorita, in the district of Castagnola, where the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection is located. Finally, Lugano is also the city of Mario Botta, whose architectural genius leaves several traces, including the best known: the building of the Bank of Gotthard, which also houses an art gallery inside.
3 Monte San Salvatore and Monte Brè
In Lugano, a town with just over 50,000 inhabitants, there are several places of interest. We recommend a visit to Mount San Salvatore which, together with its counterpart Monte Brè, is one of the two mountains enclosing the Gulf of Lugano. “From their summits, you can enjoy a splendid panorama. In both cases, these are interesting destinations for excursions and history. This is demonstrated by the story of the small church that stands at the top of San Salvatore, whose origins date back to the early 1200s, when the Bishop of Como sold his assets on the mountain to the Chapter of Lugano.
Even then, there stood a shrine, a small chapel later transformed into a small church, with a bell tower and a red portico. Soon began the tradition of pilgrimages, especially on Ascension and Pentecost days, with processions of hundreds of praying people. Those coming from afar stayed overnight near the church. In 1703, the old building was demolished to make way, two years later, for the new church, thanks to the volunteer work of the women of Pazzallo and Carabbia, who carried up there the necessary materials.
The history of Monte San Salvatore is punctuated by curious episodes. It is known, for example, that the people of the nearby villages, returning from the pilgrimage, used to stop at the Sant’Antonio college in Lugano, where they were offered wine. This also gave rise to nocturnal invasions.
Starting from the mountain, there were also smuggling episodes, thwarted by the Austrian police in the nineteenth century. After a series of disastrous storms, in 1859 the first lightning rod was installed, followed by a large beautification work on the little church and the construction of a refuge-hospice to host pilgrims. For a certain period, management was entrusted to a Florentine, Major Siccoli, who also planned the construction of a hotel modeled on Monte Generoso.
