ASCONA ON LAKE MAGGIORE
Getaway Escape in Italian Switzerland
Ascona
was a sleepy little fishing village on the north shore of Lake Maggiore
(Lake Verbano) which shares the border of Italy and Switzerland until
it was “discovered” early
in the 20th Century by a fast growing collection of artists and cultural
thinkers finding the beauty and quiet lifestyle of this corner of the
world an ideal getaway. The Old Town of Ascona consisting of narrow streets
and passageways now lined with shops and patio bars around the iconic
landmark of the medieval Church of Peter and Paul with its distictive
tower, useful as a landmark, lead to the broad paved prominade where
restaurants with outdoor tables and hotels line the south facing shore
of the lake with the hills of Northern Italy standing across the bay. 
The small mountain behind Ascona Monte Vertia (Hill of Truth) where the
colony was founded in 1900, dedicated to various utopian visions over
the years attracted the likes of Carl Jung, Hermann Hesse, Paul Klee,
Isadora Duncan and Daphne Du Maurier. There is now a conference facility
and Japaanse tea garden on the hill site and modern day artists now make
their home around Ascona, painting the beauty of the lake and the surrounding “Centovalli” (100
valleys) in the Alps foothills that press the Ascona village against
the lake shore. The Hundred Valleys name was given to an actual single
valley of dramatic gorges formed from the delta of the River Maggia which
flows into the lake. The Centovalli is a wonderful area for hiking and
biking with stunning waterfalls and bridges, fields of wild flowers,
vineyards, tree groves and tiny villages lost in time. This area of Europe
retains some of the most moderate temperatures, protected by the Swiss
Alps to the north and Northern Italian hills to the south which makes
it a rather popular little resort town.
There
are a whole variety of hotels and rooms in Ascona from 5 Star deluxe
to the small abergo, the castle hotel of the Romantik
Hotel Seeschloss on the Promenade or more modern Best Western Hotel Sasso Boretto
Activities in Ascona include water sports on the lake, hiking the hills,
but mostly lounging on the prominade and shopping. The little art museum
in Ascona the Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna on the via Borgo (between
the bus stop and the town center) exhibits modern art with a permanent
collection which including works by Klee and Utrillo. The Island of Brissago
with a restaurant and botanical garden of Mediterranean and subtropical
plants can be visited by boat, with the 10 minute ride departing from
the promenade. The boat is free, there is a small charge for the gardens.
Local artists display their wares on a regular basis and check out the
wall of famous footprints from the June Jazz Festival.
Getting
to Ascona is a 20 minute city bus ride from Locarno where the rail lines
from Italy and Switzerland end (see William
Tell Express).
Milan is about a hour by rail and Zurich or Geneva about 3 hours direct.
Aside from car or bus, you can also take the ferry boats on Lake Maggiore,
with the quickest on the fast hyrofloil the “Enrico Fermi” based
in Locarno, for a ride perhaps reminscent of the jetboat in the James
Bond movie “Thunderball”. The ferry boats on Lake Maggiore
are not valid on various rail passes so plan for an additional charge. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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SEE
ALSO:
LOCARNO
VISCONTI CASTLE
MONTE
SAN SALVATOR FUNICULAR - LUGANO
