Ceci n est pas mon nym
I mentioned in an earlier On-The-Road that Milan is a favorite destination in Italy both for its own attractions (it is the home of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper) and the fact that it’s a convenient jumping-off place for other locations.
This post features two of those locations, both originally picked while we were in Milan by looking at local maps and saying “that doesn’t look too far, let’s see if there’s a train”. And both have become favorite destinations in themselves: Como, located on Lake Como, and Lugano, located just over the border in Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
Como is an ancient city dating back to Roman times. The city of Novum Comum was founded by Julius Caesar in 59 BCE. Two famous writers, Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger, were born and lived here. Since the 15th century it has been famous as a center of the silk industry. If you own silk neckties, they may very well be marked “Setta di Como (Como Silk)”.
The first time we came here, a guidebook we had bought told us there was basically nothing there and no reason to hang around, and that you should go to one of the other lakeside towns like Bellagio. Being kind of anti-tourists, we were delighted to read that.
On a later trip a local asked if we were there because of George Clooney. Puzzled, we asked for an explanation and he told us that they were getting a lot of Americans lately because George Clooney had famously bought a villa on the lake, at Laglio. Still, it hasn’t been very much overrun, and though there are American tour groups, you hear a wide mix of languages on the streets and it still has that quiet, slow-paced feeling.
This is a view of Lago di Como (Lake Como) from a tour boat. It might be of Bellagio, I don’t recall. I believe those mountains in the background are the beginning of the Alps and our other destination, Lugano, is just over the mountains on the next lake over.
On The Road – Ceci n est pas mon nym – Como, Italy and Lugano, SwitzerlandPost + Comments (19)