Spirito di Locarno

After submitting a couple of journal reviews and uploading a study guide, our Airbus A320 “Gandalf Viking” touched down at Malpensa Airport in Lombardy. Picking up the keys to our rental car, we discovered that Avis had magically upgraded our Fiat 500 to a shiny hybrid Alfa Romeo and, after a night at a very classic Holiday Inn Express next to the airport, Anna and I hit the road.

Driving along the shores of Lago Maggiore, the morning mist began to glow, and we kept stopping for photos as we made our way towards Stresa and the Regina Palace Hotel. Once here, looking at our old-school foldable map of Italia Nord-Ovest, we realized that we could not simply stay put waiting for tomorrow’s race, but had to follow our maximalist travel ethos by driving into Switzerland, swinging by Lugano, and checking out the Edition hotel that is about to open on the shores of Lake Como.

Our first stop in Switzerland was Locarno, famous for the 1925 Locarno Treaties which promised a new era of reconciliation and stability after the First World War. In retrospect, we all know that the scourge of war would soon resurface, yet there is something deeply moving in thinking that other roads might once have been possible.

A cappuccino and an apricot croissant later, we crossed the mountain pass over to Lugano and its art museum, featuring Korean video art and a fascinating book on anti-fascist architecture. Having only been to Lugano once before with my parents, it definitely felt like a place that I would like to return to.

The same was true for the small community of Cadenabbia, which is about to see The Lake Como Edition open on its main street. Sadly, the doors were still locked when we got there, even though the hotel seemed full of last-minute activity. Not letting this discourage us, we picked up some cheese and bread from a supermarket to enjoy next to the new pool deck.