Sunday December 13, 2020 -- After three weeks of fog locally and lots of snow in the mountains, we had an opportunity to head South again (far South!) where the weather was sunny and mild with no clouds, and mainly no snow. At this time of year it is tricky to find places to hike where you don't run into so much snow that you have to turn back. (Of course there are options to walk along lakesides and rivers where the paths are cleared, but those are mostly too monotonous for us. Or there are prepared winter trails, of which we do about 2-3 per season).
We planned our hike properly this time, starting on the very South of Monte San Salvatore (its tail, if you wish) at the lakeside town of Morcote which receives lovely morning sunshine, and ending at Bissone on the eastern side of Lago Maggiore, which receives the late afternoon sunshine. On this 10+ km hike our main goal was the village of Vico Morcote high on the hillside, a 90-minute mountain hike along the hillside, and a visit to the 12th Century parish church of San Carpoforo in Bissone, whose architecture and age is a stark contrast to the more "modern" tiny town sandwiched between the lakeshore and the freeway to Italy.
We didn't spend time in Morcote, having visited this town before. The hike to the quaint village of Vico Morcote was pleasant, but after that we ran into a problem: The 90-minute forest trail was apparently damaged in the past couple of months due to storms, with freshly uprooted trees and fallen bushes. But this is not the first time we have had to crawl under and over obstacles! Fortunately, it was never so bad that we had to turn back.
Passing through Melide (home of Swiss Miniatur) and a sunny (but boring) lakeshore walk parallel to the railway and highway isthmus across the lake, Bissone was also a bit of a disappointment, as the old church was being renovated. An unexpectedly stunning ceiling covered in artwork was shrouded by gauze fabric, particularly disappointing for me as I love to look at ceiling art.
We returned to Melide for the 15:49 train, just as the sun was setting. We are fortunate to be able to take a "quick trip" to better weather, especially as the new Ceneri Tunnel between Bellinzona and Lugano (opened just the day before) now shortens our trip by another 15 minutes. We can be in Lugano now in less than two hours!
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| Right above the town of Morcote is the dominant structure: "Chiesa di Santa Maria del Sasso", a Renaissance Church which includes a convent and was given Basilica status in 1942. We didn't go up there this time, because we've visited it before, in 2014. |
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| Instead of going through the alleyways of Morcote, we headed to the end of the town along the lakefront. |
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| We always enjoy walking through these kinds of arched alleyways. |
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| In the summertime, these shops and restaurants are very busy |
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| The reason we rarely visit these kinds of restaurants, as pretty and unique as they might be, is that smoking is still permitted on outside terraces here in Switzerland. Even the waiter setting the tables has a cigarette dangling from his lips, even though he is wearing gloves! (The lone customer is currently also smoking... so much for a mask mandate). |
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| From here we first head up to the quaint mountain town of Vico Morcote, then on to Melide (a 90-minute walk on the mountain trail through the forest). |
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| As it turns out, the trail through the forest after Vico Morcote was actually "closed" due to storm damage, but not yet marked on the map. For us, not difficult to navigate. From Melide it was 20 minutes to Bissone and 20 minutes back. |
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| Heading up the hill to Vico Morcote |
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| Vico Morcote with its lovely arcaded alleyways. You can feel how old this town is. |
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| Looking down onto a piazza at a lower elevation. |
VIDEO:
Walking through the alleyways of Vico Morcote
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| My mail goal of course: "Chiesa dei Santi Fedele e Simone" in Vico Morcote, a small detour below the main town. What a beautiful location! |
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| First phase of construction = 1591-1625, with an attractive Baroque Interior |
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| The Baroque church of San Fedele e Simone has substantial historical value |
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| Heading up the stairs behind the church to meet up with Urs (who does not quite share my passion) to continue on our 90-minute mountain trail. |
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| At this point the trail still looks very promising! |
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| The trail passed above a couple of exclusive properties (villas with swimming pool).... what a great location! |
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| It didn't take long to encounter the first of many downed trees and bushes, which we either had to crawl under or over! |
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| Most of the trail was a sun-dappled forest trail which we often walk in winter in this part of the country. |
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| We had to bend very low to pass under this one! |
VIDEO:
Crawling over and under the fallen trees and bushes
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| When we arrived above the town of Melide, we could see across the lake to where we are ultimately headed: Bissone (There is a narrow passage across the lake here which accommodates the freeway, the railway, and a lakeside walking path) |
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| Also visible from here, the Italian enclave called Campione (hotels and a large and ugly casino building), totally surrounded by Swiss territory. |
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| Melide has little charm, except for a couple of such narrow passages |
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| Creative "Christmas Trees": An olive tree on the left, and a Ticino Palm Tree on the right. |
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| Crossing the "isthmus" over Lago di Lugano. To the South is Monte San Giorgio, which is one of Switzerland's 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. |
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| Approaching Bissone, basking in the afternoon sunshine. This town is a strip of attached houses about 2-3 deep, sandwiched between the lake and the freeway / railway line. It's the church on the right which I mainly came to visit. |
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| This is the first building we encountered after crossing the lake: "Oratorio san Rocco", also a Baroque edifice. |
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| A lovely sunny spot on the lakeshore to enjoy a coffee break |
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| Across the lake is the tail end of Monte San Salvatore, which we walked across about 1/3rd of the way up. |
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| More arched arcades in Bissone |
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| This house claims to be the birthplace of Francesco Boromini, born 1599, a famous architect who spent most of his life in Italy (very common at the time). He is portrayed on the our 100 SFr. note. |
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| Some very pretty artwork and architecture in Bissone |
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| We stumbled upon this "Grand Tour" frame, always a fun find and another photo to add to my collection! (This one showcases Monte San Giorgio, one of Switzerland's 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites) |
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| I was a bit disappointed to find that the church I really wanted to see (San Carpoforo) was undergoing some restoration. The church was first documented in 1148, but its origins are from the 8th Century!! |
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| The altar at San Carpofaro |
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| The fantastic ceiling was shrouded with protective gauze sheets... |
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| Interior of the San Carpoforo church with marble pillars and interesting artwork |
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| Before heading back to the train station in Melide, we walked up and down the narrow alleyways of Bissone. |
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| Some of these apartments get no sunshine in winter nor in summer! |
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| Some very pretty afternoon lighting |
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| Heading back to Melide along the highway |
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| We had a few minutes to scoot under the highway bridge at the Melide train station, to look across Lake Lugano to the North: On the left is Monte San Salvatore, straight ahead is Monte Bré, and on the right the Italian enclave of Campione |
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| Our three-hour hike is in yellow, starting in Morcote. We advised the "keeper of the trails" about the damage, and two days later this trail was marked as "inaccessible" on the official Swiss hiking trail map... |
ADDENDUM:
This photo from the website https://parrocchia-bissone.ch/chiesa/ shows what the ceiling looks like when it is not veiled by the protective fabric. I look forward to visiting one day again when the restoration is finished:
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