Not yet green, but lots of colour starting to show: Magnolias are actually already shedding their petals, and if you look carefully, there are little bursts of colour everywhere...
Originally, we wanted to start higher up, at a place called Sagno, to close the "link" for hikes we've done previously. But the bus driver left Mendrisio station late (no reason, just chatting with another bus driver) and an old lady who got on along the way couldn't find the change to buy her ticket.... so we missed our connecting bus. But no big deal, we just started from there in Morbio Superiore, and headed down into the Breggia Gorge, which forms the lower part of the Muggio Valley and where the rocks that break the surface are millions of years old.
On the other side of the gorge at Castel San Pietro is the Red Church (Chiesa Rossa), possibly named so because of its colour, but perhaps because of a Romeo/Juliet type of scenario which took place there in 1390, where a revengeful family murdered all the members of the other one as they celebrated Christmas Mass. History.... repeating itself over and over.
After a fancy lunch of homemade pasta at a renovated estate farm, the rest of the afternoon was spent walking along the mountainside, checking out villages with narrow alleyways, and ending with a tour of Mendrisio's old churches before returning to the station, where we had our standard dessert at a Gelateria, which really marks the end of the tour...
*** Oh, and after the fact I found out there is a valuable Serassi organ in the Church in Castel San Pietro, which we did not visit, so this will require another trip. Where we will also request the key to the Chiesa Rossa, to view "one of the richest series of Gothic Frescoes in Canton Ticino".
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| From Morbio Superiore: Looking across the Breggia Gorge to Castel San Pietro on the right and the Chiesa Rossa on the left. And you can see all the way to the Valais Alps at the back the highest mountains in the Swiss Alps |
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| The "Red Church" (Chiesa Rossa - This structure is 675 Years Old!) sits on the edge of a cliff above the Breggia Gorge |
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| Down at the bottom of the Breggia Gorge are the remains of the old mill. The diagonal stone slabs are over a million years old. |
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| A pleasant quiet place to have a coffee break, in the Breggia Gorge where the excavating power of the river has uncovered rocks over 80 million years old! |
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| And little bits of colour everywhere |
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| On the other side of the Gorge is the Chiessa Rossa, where lots of blood was shed on Christmas Eve 1390. The Church is locked because of the valuable fresco paintings inside |
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| From the location of the Chiesa Rossa, we can see across the Breggia Gorge to Morbio Superiore where we started our excursion. We actually wanted to start higher on the right. But one day soon we will walk across that ridge at the back, which actually is along the border with Italy |
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| The parish church in Castel San Pietro (Sant'Eusebio) contains a rare Serassi Organ |
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| When we were in Castel San Pietro last time they were renovating this this very old farm estate. It is now a fancy restaurant and hotel with its own wine production, so we had lunch here. Looks like a museum. Pasta was home-made. And I love when the menu is a chalk-board placed next to your table. |
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| A very nice lunch at Ai Cuntitt in Castel San Pietro |
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| From the Estate, a view over the cemetery in Castel San Pietro |
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| And a zoomed view of the Valais Alps 100k to the West, the highest peaks on Swiss ground |
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| Maybe next time we will try a different restaurant, this one is less fancy but rustic |
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| The blooming magnolias are a pleasure! |
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| Up on the hill, the next church to visit (also locked). |
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| Behind the little hill at the back on the right is where we actually wanted to start our hike. |
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| The streets are very narrow. You always hope no one is coming in the other direction! |
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| Lots of interesting alleyways and passages to discover |
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| This beautiful church which we did not visit was at a place where we decided to head down to Mendrisio |
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| Across the city is this very old structure, perched at the top of the cliff. You have to try to imagine it in the Middle Ages, without all the modern buildings around it. |
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| Across the rooftops of the historical center of Mendrisio (Borgo) |
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| We popped into two of the old churches, San Giovanni Battista (1722/1733) and Santa Maria in Borgo (1518). Always such artful interiors |
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| One of many interesting courtyards to peek into |
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| These ladies were a hoot. They weren't going to move their car for us to get through. "No problem" they said, "There is lots of room to squeeze by!" . Which there wasn't. |
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| The main church in Mendrisio, Chiesa dei Santi Cosma e Damiano. It has a dome on the top which you can't see from this angle. |
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| The piazza in front of the Church |
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| Always beautiful here in the South with the palm trees and the early blooming trees |
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| And finishing off with a very yummy, very large serving of Gelato near the train station! |
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| Our "short" hike today, only 8.5 km. We wanted to start in Sagno, bottom right on the map. That would have added the missing kilometers to make our regular 10-12! |
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| We have done many hikes in this area, the Southernmost part of Switzerland. We have walked through the vineyards and the Breggia Gorge, and in the Muggio Valley. I really wanted to start in Sagno and walk down to Morbio Superiore to close that gap, but the bus was late leaving Mendrisio station, and didn't make the short connection in Morbio. |
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| This area is in the southernmost part of Switzerland, very near the border to Italy. |
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