CK Goes to Italy – Como (Lago di Como)

Como is a small town 50 km north of Milan with very little attraction. Why did I go to this town then? You may wonder. Well, this town is the gateway to the fairytale villages of Lago di Como (Lake Como), the beautiful lake region of northern Italy.

Since I was still staying in Milan on 27^th of May, 2006, I took a train from Stazione Milano Centrale to go to Como. The slower train wandered through the tracks for about 40 minutes to arrive at the Como San Giovanni train station, and it was 9:05 a.m.

To get to the ferry dock about 800 m east of the train station up a slope, I walked through the streets with painted buildings, I mean buildings with paintings on the wall.

I was actually doing a little injustice to Como when I said that it has very little attraction. In fact the streets are lined with buildings of painted facades which are pleasing to the eyes.

There must be a lot of effort put into these artworks on the wall.

I took almost half and hour to walk through an 800-m distance, as there were so many paintings to see on the walls.

There is only one ferry operator on Lago di Como, the Navigazione Lago di Como. I bought a village-hopping ferry ticket and I was on my way to explore the fairytale villages.

Guess whose villa is this? It belongs to George Clooney. Yes, the Hollywood movie star! Those Americans on board kept on shouting: "Georgie! Georgie!", hoping that he would show up at the balcony, but apparently that never happened!

The body of water with the hills are always one of my favourite subjects. However, It was quite cloudy on that morning. Getting across these mountain ranges would have brought me to Switzerland.

My first stop was Bellagio. I went up the steps to explore this prominent village flooded by visitors everyday from April till September every year.

There is a church on top of the hill.

I boarded the ferry again half an hour later and took a glance of this beautiful village on the water.

Few minutes later, the ferry docked at another village called Menaggio. This village is awesomely beautiful!

It was past lunch time when I arrived at Menaggio, so I sat down at a cafe overlooking the lake to have my iced latte and a sandwich.

After a light lunch, I took a slow stroll along the waterfront of this fairytale-like village to explore further.

The sky has started to clear up in the afternoon when the clouds were gone.

The villagers planted a lot of flowers in their gardens and on the fences, including this burning red rose.

If there is water, there are boats.

If there is no boat, there is a always a jetty for the young and the young at heart to meddle with the water.

There were always beautiful flowers along the waterfront to sooth my breath.

I left Menaggio after hours of exploration. Along the way back, I spotted Villa Balbianello at which the Star Wars Episode I & II were shot. It was featured as Queen Amidala's Palace in the movies.

The very beautiful and fairytale-like villages were further and further away behind me.

I took a final glance of the villages and mountain ranges before I chit-chatted my time away with an Australian couple whom I caught their attention with the print on my T-shirt that reads: "Australia 16,776 km. It's a bloody long way."

If you would like to read my other posts on Italy, these are the links:

• CK Goes to Italy – Rome (Roma)
• CK Goes to Italy – Vatican City (Citta del Vaticano)
• CK Goes to Italy – Florence (Firenze)
• CK Goes to Italy – Fiesole
• CK Goes to Italy – Pisa
• CK Goes to Italy – Siena
• CK Goes to Italy – Milan (Milano)
• CK Goes to Italy – Verona
• CK Goes to Italy – Genoa (Genova)
• CK Goes to Italy – Cremona
• CK Goes to Italy – Como (Lago di Como)
• CK Goes to Italy – Venice (Venezia)
• CK Goes to Italy – Naples (Napoli)
• CK Goes to Italy – Pompeii (Pompei)
• CK Goes to Italy – Sorrento
• CK Goes to Italy – Capri
• CK Goes to Italy – Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana)
• CK Goes to Italy – Amalfi
• The Return of CK from Italy

CK Goes to Italy – Cremona

What interests me in this small city 70 km southeast of Milan are the priceless antique violins made by the three grandmasters of all violin makers, Nicolo Amati, Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri.

On 28^th May, 2006, I stepped my feet on board the Intercity train at Milano Centrale Stazione scheduled to leave for Cremona at 8:15 a.m., in search of the finest instruments that showed their sound to me through my hi-fi. Those instruments were played by the maestro, Salvatore Accardo, in one of my all time favorite CDs of violin music with the title I violini di Cremona.

At around 9:35 a.m., I have just stepped out of the train station.

The streets of Cremona are lined with elaborately decorated windows.

I wondered whether the girl of my dream would appear at the balcony. Obviously, that never happened!

My first stop was Museo Civico, where some paintings of the Cremonese artists are on display.

If my memory serves me right, this painting was started off by Leornado da Vinci and was finished by somebody else.

Adjoining Museo Civico is Museo Stradivariono. By the name of the museum, it is obvious that the treasures inside are violins, antique violins, of course! The old tools used by Nicolo Amati and Antonio Stradivari are on display as well. There is also an old signboard of Antonio Stradivari's workshop.

I walked a few rounds in Museo Stradivariono but I couldn't find the violins featured in my CD. I thought my travel guide had misinformed me about those violins. I approached a friendly museum guard and she told me that those preciously violins were moved to a palace as a separate exhibition some time ago, so I asked her for the name of the palace. It is Palazzo Comunale. I was full of hope again and moved on to look for this palace. I passed through Piazza Cavour where some school children were having their volleyball matches.

From Piazza Cavour, I could already see the bell tower of Palazzo Comunale. I was so happy that I could see those violins up close in a very short while.

I was so excited to see those masterpieces displayed in the splendid ballroom of Palazzo Comunale. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when the "G. Guarneri detto del Gesù" was just right in front of my eyes! I have seen the violin called "Quarestani", also by Giuseppe Guarneri! I almost shouted for joy when Antonio Stradivari's "Cremonese" was presented to me! When I went round and round the museum, I also spotted "Hammerle" crafted by Nicolo Amati. The excitement and joy were just beyond my descriptions!

I can't show you how the violins look like, though, as photography was not allowed. Therefore I show you this violin maker on Piazza del Comune which is just nearby to the palace.

After the excitement and joy of antique violin appreciation, it was time for my stomach to appreciate some food too. I sat at the table right in the middle of Piazza del Comune to appreciate this plate of mixed-cut meat, as in accordance to the recommendation by the waiter, an authentic Cremonese appetizer.

My main course was a plate of spaghetti marinara with plenty of fresh mussels, shrimps, clams and octopus cutlets. It was a little too salty to my taste bud, though.

I took up my camera again to shoot this Cattedrale right in front of Piazza del Comune after lunch.

Palazzo Comunale where I have seen the masterpieces in violin making is just right opposite the Cattedrale.

The bell tower of the Cattedrale soaring high up to the sky.

This was taken at the side of the Cattedrale.

And this is me behind the Cattedrale.

After the self-portrait, I tried to see more up close on the bell tower and the minarets from behind the Cattedrale.

Another up close view of the minarets at the sides of the Cattedrale.

Feeling satisfied from my quest on seeing the best violins in the history of violin making, I couldn't stop to smile at the other train passengers on the way back to Milan. And they smiled back to me, probably just curious about me smiling at everybody.

If you would like to read my other posts on Italy, these are the links:

• CK Goes to Italy – Rome (Roma)
• CK Goes to Italy – Vatican City (Citta del Vaticano)
• CK Goes to Italy – Florence (Firenze)
• CK Goes to Italy – Fiesole
• CK Goes to Italy – Pisa
• CK Goes to Italy – Siena
• CK Goes to Italy – Milan (Milano)
• CK Goes to Italy – Verona
• CK Goes to Italy – Genoa (Genova)
• CK Goes to Italy – Cremona
• CK Goes to Italy – Como (Lago di Como)
• CK Goes to Italy – Venice (Venezia)
• CK Goes to Italy – Naples (Napoli)
• CK Goes to Italy – Pompeii (Pompei)
• CK Goes to Italy – Sorrento
• CK Goes to Italy – Capri
• CK Goes to Italy – Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana)
• CK Goes to Italy – Amalfi
• The Return of CK from Italy