A LAKE FULL OF FLAVOURS Walking amid the fragrances and flavours of Lake Como www.lakecomo.it [email protected] CONTENTS Presentation and introduction 2 A Lake full of wine 4 Itinerary: The Upper Lake area As beautiful as a ower 8 Itinerary: Discovering villages, villas and gardens from the water As smooth as oil 12 Itinerary: Oil Basin and Comacina Island Plenty more sh 16 Itinerary: Bellagio to taste As good as... bread 20 Itinerary: From the lake to the small lakes, searching for ancient mills As sweet as honey 24 Itinerary: Como, the cradle of italian rationalism Cheese! 28 Itinerary: Delightful border pasturelands A taste of the Province of Lecco 32 Lake avours… in the pan 38 Tastings and Sale 42 Where and how a product is made 44 How to get here/tourist information 46 Map of the province of Como 50 FOREWORD PROVINCIA DI COMO The area around Lake Como is famous and appreciated throughout the world for its artistic and monumental masterpieces, its charming landscapes, its fascinating lake and its quality manufactured goods, above all in the field of fashion and design. However, not everyone is aware of Como’s agricultural products and the tradition, history and material culture they express. Thanks to this guidebook, the Provincial Administration of Como aims to propose another way of enjoying a stay here, recommending food and wine itineraries during which to enjoy the area’s cultural and natural offer. It is therefore an invitation to consider Lake Como not as a stopover, but as a tourist destination per se, to be enjoyed and savoured calmly, carefully and with inquisitiveness. Don’t miss it! Provincial Administration of Como 2 INTRODUCTION Visiting any territory also means discovering its aromas and flavours through its cuisine and its food and wine specialities, in order to turn a journey into a sensory experience. Savouring local products and allowing yourselves to be seduced by the land and water that generated them is the experience this short guidebook to the flavours of Lake Como hopes to offer. Amid vines and olive groves, following the recommendations of those who have immortalized the world’s most beautiful lake in literature and poetry, we invite you to discover places that can offer a glimpse of times gone by, just a stone’s throw from the hectic pace of city life. “…and be sure you don’t go with other boys to the lake to throw stones into the water, nor to watch them fish, nor to play with the nets hung up to dry....” advises Agnes in The Betrothed, hinting at the ability of these places to enchant visitors and make them lose all sense of time. Spending a day on Lake Como, seeking out its most authentic culinary traditions, watching the sun set as its golden glow reflects on the waves and reawakening in the seductive light of the water, surrounded by villas and gardens that exude a 19th-century atmosphere is an amazing experience for anyone choosing Lombardy for a short break or a longer holiday. 3 A LAKE FULL OF “On both sides were vineyards, WINE with vines still stretched between their supports; their leaves shone brightly, in various shades of red. Strips of freshly ploughed land showed up black and sharply among the whitish fields of stubble, which were glistening with dew.”. Grape growing in the area around (see the chapter on the Province of Lake Como and on the hills of Brianza Lecco), including the difficulty in- A. Manzoni has extremely ancient origins. Numer- volved in producing wine on terraced The Betrothed ous references are made to it in Roman and heavily sloping areas, the region’s texts, as well as during the Middle vine growing and wine producing his- Below: Ages and in the modern era. For cen- tory is confirmed by numerous docu- map of the main turies, these lands produced wines for ments that bear witness to the close production areas both local consumption and for the relationship between human factors wider market, particularly for Milan. and the quality and characteristics of It was however from the 19th century these wines. At present, the largest onwards that more vineyards in the province of Como LAKE COMO systematic and sci- are concentrated in the Upper Lake entific reference is area – where Domasino is favourably made to it, thanks influenced by the viticulture of the also to the work of nearby Valtellina area and is showing the Ampelographic strong signs of an upturn in interest Commission, which from grape growers – as well as on the left a detailed list of shores of Lake Lugano and the Olgiata O I the dozens of grape Hills, thanks to favourable orographic LUGANO IO R ES A ER C L - O - varieties found lo- conditions and the influence of the vit- N A O G U M L O cally in the latter iculture of the nearby Canton Ticino. C E E K K A A L L half of the 19th century (including the famous Verdesa, a traditional local LECCO white variety). COMOC Despite produc- tion having come to somewhat of a standstill due to a number of reasons 4 THE LEGEND OF TEODOLINDA WINE Ancient Via Regina, parts. The people turned which according to tra- directly to the queen, who dition was built by Queen listened attentively to Teodolinda, even though their request. the first documents to call A while later, Teodolinda it by this name only date was widowed and chose back to 1335, was a road to remarry the Duke of that swept the entire west- Turin, Agilulfo, who im- ern shore of Lake Como mediately set out on a as far as Chiavenna. journey to the palace in Numerous legends ex- Monza with his entou- ist about Teodolinda, a rage. In line with tradi- queen who was much tion, when Teodolinda loved by her people. One met her future husband, Vineyards in the upper lake area of these narrates that in the queen offered him the 7th century AD an something to drink from edict of the then King of a precious sapphire gob- the Lombards forbade his let, after having taken a PRODUCT SHEET subjects to drink wine, sip herself. Agilulfo was grow vines or eat grapes. amazed; in fact, the gob- In 2008, the rediscovery of viti- The official drink was let did not contain Lom- culture in the Lario area led to the to be cervogia, a sort of bard cervogia, but wine. TGI (Typical Geographical Indica- bitter and aromatic beer He enjoyed the wine so tion) designation Terre Lariane. that was extraneous to much it was subsequently Although still a niche production, the traditions of these served on their wedding. cultivation now extends over a fairly large area that embraces the Provinces of Como and Lecco with two distinct zones; on the one hand, the viticulture of the Brianza area (above all, near Lec- co), which centres on the hills of Montevecchia where the majority of production is concentrated and where the protection consortium THE WINE OF DESIRE is based, and on the other, the viti- culture of the Upper Lake, which “Of the wines of Lombardy, I’d like to talk again about one in particular; Domasino white, produced in the is concentrated primarily on the Province of Como, in the upper part, in the north, on slopes of Domaso and neighbou- the right shore of the lake. I’d like to, but I can’t be- ring municipalities. Production cause it’s a wine that I don’t know as I have never guidelines cover both white and been to Domaso; I’ve only passed by, a few times, by red wine and permit the use of all car, under the rain, without ever stopping. My heart the varieties authorised in Lom- says I wouldn’t be betrayed. In the meantime, I like bardy. In recent years, it has pri- to think of Domasino just as that: as a wine of desire, marily been the white wines that that no wine could ever equal” (Mario Soldati – Vino al Vino (Wine to Wine), 1968). have received most recognition. A LAKE OF FULL WINE THE PRODUCT 5 A LAKE FULL OF WINE GRAVEDONA ED UNITI MAP LEGEND GRAVEDONA ED UNITI MAP LEGEND Itinerary Itinerary Departure Departure Arrival Arrival S. Maria del Tiglio S. Maria del Tiglio STAZZONA Palazzo Manzi and STAZZONA WWIIPalazzo Museum Manzi and TheWWII Crotti Museum in Stazzona The Crotti in Stazzona m o o m o Lecco o Como Lecco e C Como history of the Resistance on Lake Como k e C and the events that decreed the end of DONGO a k L a DONGO L Fascism. On leaving the museum, on the square dedicated to Giulio Paracchini and ITINERARY along the lake front, a series of posters narrate the events of those days and Itinerary: The Upper Lake area. indicate where the main events took place. Duration on foot (excluding stops): approx. 3h Walk along Via del Mercato to the town centre and 30min; by car: 30min. visit the small Romanesque Church of St Maria di Martinico, which is normally open. Return towards Our itinerary begins in Dongo, a tourist resort and Palazzo Manzi and cross the bridge over Albano industrial town in the upper Lario area, situated in River to the Franciscan Monastery of Madonna the plain formed by the mouth of Albano Torrent. delle Lacrime. About 50 metres further on, take It affords magnificent views of Mount Legnone Viale Mons. Bellesini that leads to the Parish Church and northern Grigna.