F.apart from the “SonnenStube”, the Canton Ticino, also known as the “Living room of the sun” of Switzerland. And even if in the collective imagination she seems a bit like a charming and quiet Grande Dame, Lugano is actually a destination in change and contamination between various artistic and architectural disciplines. To be discovered on an autumn weekend, in which nature triumphs with warm colors, the table is animated by greedy flavors and the proposals, from contemporary exhibitions to hiking trails, from avant-garde boutiques to Mediterranean and subtropical gardens, surprise the visitor who chooses to stroll curiously or to glide along the Lake Ceresio. Like the travelers of the Grand Tour in the past centuries, but with eyes wide open to the future.
Tropical green, painting and contemporaneity
The impression, at first glance, is to be immersed in an exotic landscape, with Monte San Salvatore almost reminiscent of Rio’s Corcovado. Oranges, lemons, date palms, cycas, can be admired along the paths of the Park of Villa Heleneum, on the shores of Lake Lugano in the Castagnola district. It belonged to Hélène Bieber, avanspectacle dancer in Paris and animator of cultural salons and will be transformed, by the end of 2022, into the Bally Heleneum, a laboratory of ideas with exhibition areas dedicated to art, fashion, design, sustainability, innovation and headquarters of the Foundation Bally, in homage to the Swiss brand, right next to the Archi di Luce residential complex, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, with terrace roofs and villas hidden in the greenery.
In Lugano the Masi LACcultural center dedicated to the visual and scenic arts, as well as to music and theater, conceived by the architect Ivano Gianola as two orthogonal wings, one of which is suspended towards the lagoonor, as evidence of the new driving force for change. Until January 8, 2023, the Masi LAC hosts the exhibition Paul Kleewith 70 works from a jewel-collection: watercolors, lithographs and drawings. Also not to be missed is the exhibition on Industrial poems by Marcel Broodthaers (staged until 11 November), and the adjacent one Giancarlo and Danna Olgiati collection (Collezioneolgiati.ch) which retraces the avant-garde of our time but with a constant reference to the historical avant-gardes, with Italian artists such as Fontana and Burri, and international ones, including Kiefer, Kapoor, Clemente, Christo and Gormley. The retrospective Who is laughingby Pietro Roccasalva, crosses painting with other languages, including sculpture, photography, video and performance, and can be visited until 18 December.
Made in Switzerland is trendy
Shopping has also become modern and trendy. For fashion and accessories you go under the arcades of via Canovaat the Avart concept store by Alma Beragouth (avart-shop.com), designed by Studiopepe, to discover niche Swiss brands that carry out meticulous research, including Amorphose for dresses and blouses, and Sherylin for handcrafted jewelery worked as small sculptures. From Nordisk (nordisk.store) is curious about design accessories, while Dahra (dahraliving.ch) is the temple of floral arrangements, artistic perfumery and objects, the creativity of whose owner, Maurizio Romano, has transformed part of via della Posta into an area of beneficial greenery.
Sporty or greedy outdoors?
Mountain bike tour in the Lugano area.
The pumpkin, together with chestnuts and mushrooms, in this period is queen not only of decorations, but above all of the table. Every Saturday, from 5 to 26 November, Lugano Region (luganoregion.com) organizes free guided excursions, “Autumn Flavors”, to discover the most hidden corners and to delight the palate. To Gabbani Gastronomy (gabbani.com), “Il Peck di Lugano”, also a wine shop and hotel, you go shopping gourmand and stop for an aperitif.
Those who, on the other hand, love hiking and mountain biking (there are, respectively, over 900 kilometers of trails and 400 kilometers of routes, the highest density in Switzerland), in addition to following the ArtinBosco path (artinbosco.ch), which winds through the trees of Capriasca, with open-air art installations created by elements of nature suspended in mid-air or hidden between the foliage, also explores the chestnut woods Alto Malcantone, along the chestnut path. Or go to the discovery of Mount Arbostorastarting from Paradiso, at the foot of San Salvatore, and stops at the Giardino di Bacco Association, where three young people promote the sustainable production of local specialties, such as wine, preserves and honey.
Small ancient world, indeed modern
An alley in the village of Gandria.
Speaking of support for the local economy, the director Francesca Solari, with her Bottega-bar in Gandria, also supports local producers and artisans. Gandria it can be reached by car, or, better still, by walking along the Path of the olive tree (three kilometers) which starts in Castagnola, or again by taking the boat from Lugano which lands in front of the Bottega. Gandria is a romantic pedestrian fishing village, perched at the foot of Monte Brè, which embraces the lake. An ups and downs of stone streets, a 16th century church with sumptuous Baroque interiors, small terraced gardens, houses overlooking the lake, an ideal microclimate that favors rich vegetation and moored or suspended boats, as the weather seems to be here. Yesterday it was narrated in Small ancient world by Antonio Fogazzaro, today it has become a special place where a young and intellectual community of artists, designers and researchers has chosen to live. Goodbye Lugano, sang Ivan Graziani. But this face of the city and of the Lugano area is one of those that, on the other hand, you really don’t want to leave.
Where sleeping in Lugano
Hotel Villa Castagnola
Five stars with a triumphal garden of arboreal essences and tropical flowers, which resist thanks to the favorable microclimate. Double from 400 euros. villacastagnola.com
A suite of Villa Castagnola, in Lugano.
Darsena House
Home of the architect Louise Realini-Brandberg, literally pieds-dans-l’eau. From 203 euros per night, minimum stay of 5 nights. airbnb.it
Where to eat
Sass Cafe
piazza della Riforma 9, Lugano. Historic restaurant with tables in the sun, entirely renovated. sasscafe.ch
Le Bucce di Gandria restaurant
via Cantonale 6978, Gandria. Revisited traditional cuisine and panoramic terrace overlooking the waters of the Ceresio. On the menu, pumpkin flan, chestnut gnocchi, hay butter and chanterelles. lebucce.com
INFO
Lugano Tourist Board: luganoregion.com/it
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