Bormio and Riva Del Garda - Paradiso!



Want to go back in time and escape into a medieval Italian mountain village?  Try Bormio!  Nestled in the Italian alps near the Swiss border.  Bormio retains some of its medieval heritage with many old buildings.  More tranquillo, at least in the summer.  Winters it is famed for its skiing and dogsledding (site for the 2026 winter Olympics) . The watchtower bells (rung manually on the hour) set the tempo and could be heard far up in the mountains where I was hiking on my first day there.  


Food is a mix of Swiss and Italian with a local delicacy being a buckwheat version of polenta called "taragna" served with sautéed fungi (mushrooms).  Another local favorite are fried cheese balls.  Vecchia Combo is a quaint restaurant that has been around a long time. 

Mountain biking is ubiquitous and its easy to rent a bike of any variety for a day or weeklong trip.   One day bike trip gave me a little sampling of real mountain biking. I biked up and traversed the mountain bordering Bormio on the north. Only 300 meter elevation change and I was "hurting." I am more in awe of the bikers I passed driving over the Alpi ascending 1500 meters! Also the ones who speed down steep mountain trails seemingly without fear.  

My grandparents immigrated from Colico, a town on the northern shore of Lake Como, but 60 miles to the northeast of Colico,  Bormio has many Canclini's as well. My first night there the town signage posted the memorial for recently passed "Hercules Canclini"  Restaurants and shops either knew, were dating or were related to a Canclini.  3 days was too short as I had just started to meet the natives (they even requested I keep playing in the mornings in the local piazza)


But it was time to Riva del Garda where my street musician extraordinaire Roberto.  I took the "shortcut" thru the Stelvio National Park up and over the steepest and narrowest mountain "roads" I have driven.  It was sweaty palms and white knuckles on ongoing switchbacks that barely allowed one vehicle and no barriers to prevent going off 1000 foot cliffs.  But once I started my descent there was no turning around.  The amazing thing was seeing bicyclists coming up!!  Would they make it before dark?  

But I made it to Riva and the welcoming hospitality of an amazing Air BNB host Elio Morelli.  Inventor, entrepreneur, gardener and tuba player.  A stay at his house includes a a traditional breakfast with fruits, vegetables, Kombucha, and jams from this own garden.  Video

And then dinner, guitar lessons and watching Roberto enthrall the crowds with his amazing voice and guitar skills.  Is it even possible to ever play like he does?  He lives in a van with solar power.  He models minimalist and self sufficiency.  Riva is a little place of paridiso, but music a tough way to make a living.  It gives me much to think about. 
Roberto

Riva del Garda








Location: 23032 Bormio, Province of Sondrio, Italy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering My Aunt Lil - A Pioneering Lady, Mendocino California

Image
Aunt Lil 2022 At the conclusion of the family reunion, I headed up the northern California coast to Mendocino.  My aunt Lil (my dad's sister) passed on while I was in Italy just 4 days shy of her 96th birthday!   Gilda Lillian Drinkwater was a grand lady, way ahead of her time, and a role model for me throughout my youth.  She and her husband (my Uncle Homer) had several hundred acres they had purchased for peanuts in the 1940s.  I had spent much time there many summers and wanted to pay my respects to someone who for which I have great respect.  Aunt Lil's obituary is here Aunt Lil on her porch overlooking  the Laguna Ranch in 2019 Upon arriving, I booked a room in the iconic Mendocino Hotel on the Main street.  The Mendocino Hotel was established in 1878, during the Victorian era. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mendocino was a thriving logging town. The hotel, in its prime location overlooking the Pacific Ocean, became a hub for travelers, loggers, and reside
Read more

Passing on a Legacy - Northern Italy & Switzerland with my Son

Image
Want a wonderful opportunity!  I met my oldest son at the Milan airport and took him to Lake Como, where his great-grandparents immigrated from back in the 1920s.  It was a poignant experience, as we visited many of the same places I had taken my father 8 years ago before he passed. In fact, the picture above was taken right when I posed with my father. We visited Bellagio on day one and then made our way up to the lake's northern tip.   We visited the Canclini wine sellers and cemetery.   We hiked up into the mountains above Colico, for a breathtaking view. We also discovered a little church that had a fresco painted around 1490.  According to the documents, this version was done 30 years before Leonardo da Vinci painted his "Last Supper" in Milan.            Then it was on to Lago Maggiore, where I had stayed while I worked.  It was a wonderful "homecoming" seeing old friends and work colleagues and visiting some of my favorite restaurants and haunts.  Per JD&
Read more

Sunrise Sunset - Marriage in Lynchburg, Virginia

Image
  Lynchburg, Virginia.  The place of marriage for my oldest son.  The first time all four of my children have gathered together in years. I was expecting Lynchburg to be a backwater, but was pleasantly surprised with what I experienced. The little turn-of-the-century downtown with classic front porches set in the hills above the James River exuded historic Americana.   But Lynchburg also has two of the most authentic Indian restaurants I've experienced outside India itself and a great jazzy pub.  Not bad for a dry county. You can ride the railroad to Lynchburg from Washington D.C. and I recommend you do especially in the fall.  For me a week of preparation with my son including yoga on the river and getting acquainted with the new family made this a very special time. As the ceremony progressed the scene from "Fiddler on the Roof" where they sang " Sunrise Sunset " came to mind. Take a listen.  
Read more