©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Ticino POP 333,750 / AREA 2813 SQ KM / LANGUAGE ITALIAN Why Go? Bellinzona ..................... 189 The summer air is rich and hot. Vespas scoot along palm- Lugano ...........................193 fringed promenades. A baroque campanile chimes. Kids Lago di Lugano .............199 play in piazzas fl anked by pastel-coloured mansions. Italian Ceresio Peninsula ........200 weather. Italian style. And that’s not to mention the Italian gelato, Italian pasta, Italian architecture, Italian lang- Mendrisio & Around ..... 201 uage. But this isn’t Rome, Florence or Naples. Ticino is the Lago Maggiore ............. 201 Switzerland that Heidii never mentioned. Locarno ........................ 201 The Alps are every bit as magnifi cent as elsewhere in Swit- Ascona ..........................205 zerland, but here you can admire them while sipping a full- Western Valleys ............206 bodied merlot at a pavement cafe, enjoying a hearty lunch at a Valle Maggia .................207 chestnut-shaded grotto (rustic Ticino-style inn or restaurant), Val Verzasca .................209 or fl oating in the mirror-like lakes of Lugano and Locarno. Ticino tempers its classic Alpine looks with Italian good-living. To the north, the stunning medieval fortress town of Bellinzona keeps watch over valleys speckled with homely Best Places to Eat hamlets and Romanesque chapels. Rearing above them are » Ristorante Castelgrande wild, forested peaks with endless hiking options past lakes (p192) and roaring mountain streams. » Grotto Ca’ Rossa (p208) » Ecco (p206) W hen to Go » Ristorante Santabbondio (p197) Get into the carnival swing with feasting, parading and merrymaking at the pre-Lenten Rabadan in Bellinzona. » Osteria del Centenario Spring brings hikers to the wildfl ower-cloaked Alps and (p205) classi cal music fans to the Lugano Festival. Lugano stages open-air concerts in July, while Locarno zooms in on Best Places to cinematic talent at its much-lauded fi lm festival in August. Stay Vintners in Mendrisio and Bellinzona toast the wine harvest in September. On a golden autumn day, nothing » Hotel & Hostel Montarina beats slow-cooked game and new wine in one of Ticino’s (p196) rustic grotti. » Caffè dell’Arte (p203) » Albergo Antica Posta (p206) » Al Pentolino (p206) » Hotel Internazionale (p192) History The founding cantons of the Swiss 188 Ticino, long a poor, rural buff er between Confederation – Uri, Scwhyz and Unter- the Swiss-German cantons north of the walden – defeated a superior Milanese Alps and Italy to the south, was absorbed force at Giornico in the Valle Levantina by the Swiss in the late 15th century in 1478 and took Bellinzona in 1503, after centuries of changing hands be- thus securing the confederation’s vul- tween the lords of Como and the dukes nerable underbelly. In 1803, Ticino of Milan. entered the new Swiss Confederation, TICINO TICINO Ticino Highlights 1 Roam the trio of 3 Indulge in Alpine cheese, and authentic grotti in the medieval castles in merlot wines and gorgeous Valle Maggia (p207) Bellinzona (p189) for spirit- scenery in Mendrisio (p201) 6 Soak up the soaring views of the Old 4 Live a heart-stopping Mediterranean fl air of Town and the Alps moment bungee jumping, Locarno (p201) in the 2 Be spellbound by lake rafting, paragliding and postcard-pretty Old Town, and mountain views from bouldering in the rugged Val lakefront gardens and lido Monte Brè and Monte San Verzasca (p209) 7 Catch the spectacular Salvatore (p199) above 5 Hike and cycle to wispy Centovalli Railway Lugano waterfalls, granite villages (p207) over hill and dale to Domodossola in Italy.