Heads or Tails: Switzerland or Italy?

LOCARNO & LUGANO, SWITZERLAND – June 6, 2006
(rough notes)

Realizing I was only a few hours from the Italian quarter of Switzerland (where it meets with Northern Italy), I decided to swing on down for the day (ah, you gotta love the ease with which you can travel from one region/country to the next). And don’t be fooled – just because this is still officially Switzerland doesn’t mean anyone “acts” Swiss. I’m not quite sure what “acting Swiss” is supposed to mean, but here in the south of Switzerland, you’d have to look hard for any evidence that you’re really not in the land of vita bella.

I arrived in Locarno via the William (“Wilhelm” in Swiss- Deutch) Tell Express, another one of those famous Swiss train rides. This one gets its name from the fabled story of the man who was forced to shoot an apple of his son’s head after refusing to bow to the Hapsburg Hat. Whether all legend, or based in some element of truth, this story picked up enough speed among the working class to help inspire them to rebel against their Hapsburg rulers.

This train ride crosses through the place where the first Swiss Cantons pledged “all for one and one for all,” that is, the birthplace of Confederate Helvetica. (So if you happen to browse to a Swiss website, like I did, and wonder, like I did, why the address is “.ch” and not something more blatantly obvious like “.sw”, now you know the secret!) This scenic ride takes you through the southern Alps – more rounded than their northerly brothers, and covered with evergreens.

I left the clouds behind in central Switzerland and, as I neared Locarno, I emerged from one mountain pass to greet blue skies awaiting me on the other side. And they stayed with me, all day long.

-- Hiked my way up the steep hillside to Santuarios della Madonna del Sasso, an impressive chapel and monastery complex with lush views of the lake below

-- A group of primary school children (age 9?) were inside the chapel, their shoes piled outside the doorway, practicing some kind of theatrical dance on the hard wooden floor. I peeked inside to watch for a few minutes. Their giggles echoed off the high, domed ceiling and the teacher tried eagerly, patiently, to correct their misshapen bodies and missteps as they posed, twirled, and stepped softly from one formation to the next.

-- While enjoying my baguette and cream cheese brunch from a sunny bench in the chapel’s courtyard, I was joined by 20-something 9-year-olds, finished with their practice and bursting with noisy energy. They hoisted their bodies halfway over the cement railing to peek over the too-tall edge, then screamed with delight as one after another, they catapulted their banana peels over the wall to the cement floor far below. Kid will be kids, in any country!

--Wandered through the city’s old quarter, and the Piazza Grande, its main square at the heart of the town. It is here that the International Film Festival takes place every August.

--Walked by Castello Visconteo, 10th century castle of the Visconti family

-- Took a train to Lugano – was much more taken with this charming lakeside town. A steep climb from the tracks down to the shore revealed a lovely tree-and-flower-lined promenade, with paddleboats for rent (and smiling customers churning white water trails behind them), gaggles of ducks and swans, a harbour chock full of sailing vessels, and even a slender elbow of sandy beach. Oh, how I wish I had brought a change of clothes to join the sunbathers!

~Melanie