Lugano, a paradise
in the old town, coquettish grocery stores and grocery stores mix with splendid Lombard Gothic temples such as the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and small churches such as Santa María de los Ángeles, where Bernardino Luini, an outstanding disciple of Leonardo, painted his version of The Last Supper and a spectacular fresco of the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ.
View of Lake Lugano from Morcor
A WALK
Boats set sail from the piers on Lake Lugano to Morcote , a town with a handful of terracotta-colored houses on the edge of the lake that were once inhabited by fishermen and today are highly sought after by artists in search of tranquility. You can also get to Gandria , where smugglers' hideouts have given way to good fish restaurants.
AN EXPERIENCE
When Herman Hesse arrived in Montagnola, the neighbors called him “the strange German with a straw hat” or “the painter with slops”. Later, after the fame that works such as Sidharta and El lobo estepario gave him, he became "the eternal walker ”. In Casa Camuzzi Post scriptum, where he lived twelve of the 43 years he spent in the town, a museum has been dedicated to him.
Beautiful views of the lake
A RESTAURANT
** The terrace of La perla ** ; business lunch menu from €15, a la carte €80 p/p) has magnificent views over the lake. René Nagy and his team bet on the mediterranean cuisine giving prominence to the fish.
A HOTEL
At the top of the Golden Hill is the **Villa Principe Leopoldo** (HD: from €181). Until his death, it was the former residence of Prince Frederick Leopold and the best of the European nobility passed through there. Beautiful views of the lake and mountains.
Lugano, city of artists and writers
* This article is published in the monograph Switzerland: 360º, 365 days of Condé Nast Traveler number 77. This issue is available in its digital version for iPad in the iTunes AppStore, and in the digital version for PC, Mac, Smartphone and iPad in the Zinio virtual kiosk (on Smartphone devices: Android, PC/Mac, Win8, WebOS, Rim, iPad) .
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