Rowley Gallery Blog
Villa Monastero was on the furthest shore of Lake Como, a long circuitous drive by car from Argegno where we were staying, but just ten minutes by ferry if we drove up to Menaggio. We left the car there and crossed the lake as foot passengers on the autotraghetto to Varenna. Continue reading “To Monastero”
Providence: Michael Moore, alto saxophone; Ernst Reijseger, cello; Han Bennink, drums
If we’d had a bit more time I would’ve liked to visit Clusone (the città dipinta – the painted town), just 35 km northeast of Bergamo, to see its medieval frescoes and its backwards clock. It’s also home to an annual international jazz festival, where the Clusone Trio got their name. They first performed a one-off concert here in the 1980s, which worked so well they became a regular group, famous for their quirky, often humorous improvisations – with spiritual leader Han Bennink percussively playing the god Dionysus to Moore’s Pan and Reijseger’s Abelard – Thom Jurek.
Piazza Vecchia, the Venetian styled centrepiece of Bergamo’s upper town, the medieval Città Alta, high on the hill overlooking the modern city of Bergamo on the plain below. Judging by the cars I’d guess this postcard dates from the 1960s, but there were no cars parked here when we visited last summer. The square was pedestrianised for the flocks of summer tourists. Continue reading “Bergamo Alta”
It was a fleeting visit. Rain was falling on Lake Como so we got the train to Milan, but there was no plan. We arrived at Stazione Nord and walked into town just to see what we might find. Continue reading “In Milano”
A walk around the narrow streets of the città murata, Como’s walled old quarter, a dense network of narrow, pedestrianised lanes at the centre of the city. An aimless wander through the maze of streets and some random photographs for souvenirs, mementos, frames of reference. Continue reading “In Como”
Bellagio is smack dab in the middle of Lake Como, at the top of the Triangolo Lariano, the triangle formed by the lake’s two southern branches. Think of Lake Como as an upside-down letter Y and Bellagio is nestled in the crotch between its striding legs. If Lake Como is a cyclist then Bellagio is its saddle and there were lots of cyclists climbing the road up from Bellagio to Monte San Primo. Continue reading “Bellagio & Bicycles”
I’m still sorting through holiday photos. It could take some time. I found a whole series taken from our balcony overlooking Lake Como and Monte San Primo. It was a different mountain every day. Continue reading “Monte San Primo”
It seemed like a good idea to try Lugano next. It’s a bigger town with more museums than Ascona, there might be a chance we’d stumble upon something by Julius Bissier there. Continue reading “In Lugano”
We came to Lake Como thinking we’d visit a few of the local gardens. We’d seen Monty Don’s Italian Gardens but we’d not committed it to memory. Then when we arrived we were told – if you visit only one garden be sure it’s Balbianello, it’s perfect. This is how it looks from the lake. Continue reading “Balbianello”
Next day we took the cable car up Monte Pasquella, from Argegno to Pigra. It’s called a funivia, which translates as a ropeway (not funny street) rather than a funicolare which runs along tracks. Cable cars can be a bit more bouncy than funiculars! Continue reading “Up To Pigra”