Visiting some Villages in the Malcantone Region near Lugano

Wednesday November 16, 2022 -- Well it's that time of year, lots of fog, even in the Ticino when the weather report says pure sunshine in the afternoon. It's gotten cold and it rained and snowed the day before, so that is ideal for fog. But please, not exactly where I wanted to walk!

Even seeing the thickly clouded skies and passing right through fog on our way to the start of our hike -- a small village called Aranno in the Malcantone region at the foot of Monte Lema and near the Italian border at Caslano on Lake Lugano -- we stayed with our planned hike through the old villages of the area. Unfortunately the low clouds covered the Monte Lema range, but we had little windows of sunshine in between, and even a good view of the Monte Rosa Massif way far to the West in Canton Valais.

The one-hour hike from the start to the next village at Iseo was a bit tricky, a narrow forest path totally covered in leaves and slippery, especially on the downhill sections. By the time we reached the view-point at Santa Maria church on a hill-top, we finally got what we came for: Pure sunshine and clear views of the Caslano arm of Lake Lugano. 

We continued down the hill through the villages of Vernate and Neggio, past several vineyards, and down a fabulous cobblestone road open only to local traffic. End of the hike was the train station at Magliaso near Agno. 

Discovering the villages of Ticino on a 3-hour walk is always a good way to spend a late fall day, as the palm trees give the sense of being in the Mediterraneaun, and the villages with their convoluted alleyways are always fascinating... and furthermore, our trip back home took only two hours!

Usually when the weather is bad north of the Alps, it is sunny when we get to the South. Not the case this time! This is what the city of Lugano looked like at 10 a.m. as we are heading to the little train which goes to Caslano.

On the way to Agno by train along the Lugano/Ponte-Tresa line, this is a look up the hill we plan to cross from the other side! The sky is looking blue, but the clouds are barely higher than the communty of Vernate, which is part of our tour for later. 

Now on the bus heading up into the Malcantone region, this is about the level of Vernate. By the time we got back here on foot three hours later, the clouds had fortunately dissipated and we had pure sunshine and a wonderful view over this arm of Lake Lugano

As the bus heads around the mountain and passes through the village of Iseo (one which we also plan to visit later) on our way to Aranno to the starting point of our hike, the thick fog is disappointing. 

Before starting on our actual hike, we were lucky to have some sunshine as we discovered the alleyways of the village of Aranno, which was no longer in the fog. We got to this village by bus at 11 a.m.

We love meandering through the alleyways of these Ticino villages. At each corner there is something interesting to look at. In particular, we love the arched passages beneath the buildings. 

A quaint little sitting corner!

At the church grounds on the West side of the village of Aranno, the fog has lifted enough to give us a view of some of the surrounding villages, for example Novaggio in the background. (We have done other hikes in this region, have walked through Novaggio before, that album is HERE, second section). 

Details of the church in Aranno. Bottom right, in the background, is one of our favourite villages here, Miglieglia, at the foot of Monte Lema, which was totally covered in the low clouds. 

After spending 30 minutes in the sunshine in Aranno, we figured it would be safe to start on our hike, the next stop being the village of Iseo, which was in the fog when we passed through by bus. 

Even though the actual walking time between Aranno and Magliaso was only three hours, we stretched it to 4-3/4 hours with lots of meandering through the villages, and enjoying the sunshine that we finally got by about 1 p.m.

The walk through the forest from Aranno to Iseo took an hour. There was still a lot of low cloud, and we lost the sunshine here, but it didn't matter, as there wasn't much to see. 

Here some people are renovating the old Rustico barns and stalls and converting them into residences. This is quite popular at the moment. 

We had a steep descent to a stream in a small ravine, and had to go carefully as the leaf-covered trail was quite wet and slippery

As we reached the village of Iseo, we got this fantastic glimpse of the Monte Rosa Massif in Canton Valais, past the rooftops of the village. This is a zoomed view, but the massif looked much larger than usual from here. They always attribute this phenomenon to the Fön winds. 

A good place for our picnic lunch in a small piazza in Iseo

Some private residences around a large square in Iseo

So many lovely details like this exquisite brickwork

We also love this type of construction, covered balconies with arched "windows"... and in this case some beautiful artwork in the recess, which almost goes unnoticed. 

Heading up to our next stop (Santa Maria church at the top of the next hill up this road to the left), this is a look over the rooftops of the village of Iseo and the Malcantone region. Far at the back is the Monte Rosa Massif in Canton Valais, 80 kilometers to the west. 

Another close-up view of the fabulous Monte Rosa Massif, 80 km to the west in Canton Valais. 

And an even closer view of one of the Malcantone Villages, probably Bedigliora (one we have not yet visited!)

20 minutes from Iseo we get to the summit of the hill where the church of Santa Maria is located, a 9th-Century building and apparently Hermann Hesse's favourite church. Unfortunately it was locked and we could not see the inside, which is too bad because there are apparently some nice frescoes in there as well. 

We knew that there would be a view from Santa Maria, and we were not disappointed! So glad the fog has lifted and the sun is now shining, at about 1:30 p.m. Interesting note: The mountains on the left are in Switzerland, but aside of the first hill on the right, the others belong to Italy. The country border is right down the center of the lake here. 

A nice panorama view of the western arm of Lake Lugano, and the mountains called Collina d'Oro, Monte San Salvatore, and way at the back: Monte Generoso

Behind Urs we also get a view to Lugano and Monte Brè, and the eastern arm of Lake Lugano

Close-up view of Monte Brè to the East, where I did a 2-hour hike just a few days earlier, those photos are HERE. 

A last look at Chiesa di Santa Rosa as we head down the hill now toward Vernate, the side above Agno. 

From Vernate, a look at Monte San Salvatore, Monte Brè, and the eastern arm of Lake Lugano at the back, where also there is a border with Italy. 

And here is that lovely view down the western arm of Lake Lugano, which was all in fog as we came up here by bus three hours earlier. 

Lots of great details in this village as well. We love the passages under the buildings!

Everywhere all the palm trees!

The church in Vernate tucked in among all the other buildings

A view past Collina d'Oro to Monte San Salvatore and Monte Generoso

Heading back through more passages

A good look into the communal fountain (people used to gather here to wash their clothes). 

This must be the lushest banana tree in Switzerland!

Heading down some cobblestone pathways toward Neggio, the next village we want to see. 

A zoomed view past Monte Brè to the snow-covered mountains past Lake Como in Italy (to the east)

Cacti do well in this warm climate as well. 

Looks like on the Mediterranean!

Details of the church in Neggio. 

On the very west side of the village of Neggio, we get another look into the hills of the Malcantone. 

A very special cobblestone road to Magliaso, open only to local traffic. 

Behind the hill here is the region where we started, where the low clouds are still blocking any view of Monte Lema. I told Urs, though, if we choose trails through vineyards, we are sure to find sunshine! (This is a look back at the village of Neggio)

Nearing lake level, some pretty fall colours 

Church and Castello in Magliaso. We didn't go up there this time, this will have to wait for another trip. We chose instead to catch the next train at the nearby station. 

The orange line is the hike we did this day, starting at Aranno, and ending at the train station in Magliaso. We have done several other hikes in the Malcantone, in the region between Lugano and Monte Lema. 

And just to compare, this is the view over Lugano (to Monte Brè) as we got back with the Caslano/Lugano train. This is at 4 p.m. 

Location of the Malcantone region nearch Lugano in Switzerland. (Very close to the Italian border)