lunedì 23 maggio 2011

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DALL'ESTEROThe SidneyMorning Herald-Traveller

Il percorso del pellegrino: una visita guida nella città sacraitaliana di Assisi

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‘There goes yourtrain,” the niceyoung man said asthe fast trainwhooshed past us.

That was the one we were meantto be on — the Eurostar fromComo to Milan in northern Italy.But that train had been delayedand by mistake we got on theslow, regional one which took usto Porta Garibaldi station, alsoin Milan.

The nice young man tried towork out a solution to ourproblem. Hop out at the nextstation and take the train backto Como, he said and then getanother fast one as we’d alreadypaid for this more expensiveone. (He was worried wewouldn’t get our money’sworth.) Or get off at PortaGaribaldi and take a tram ormetro to Stazione Centrale.

The second option was better,we thought, and in the end itdidn’t take all that much longer— maybe 30 minutes. And itmade us realise that regional orlocal trains are just as good tocatch for short distances as the

Eurostars, and a fair bitcheaper.

The way Italian trains operateis mysterious, but once you getthe hang of it not hard.

It was certainly the easiestway to get to Como, about anhour north of Milan.

We spent a weekend in thisbeautiful area, where the richMilanese have holidayed forcenturies, boating, swimmingand drinking coffee in the sun.

We stayed at the HotelMetropole Suisse.

With his four-year-old son byhis side, one of the owners,Damiano Cassani, explained thehotel had been in the family for120 years, since it was bought byhis great-grandmother, who wasfrom Luciano in Switzerland.

The building, with a facadelater designed by rationalistarchitect Giuseppe Terragni,was then only three floors butshe added two more. It wasimportant for a hotel to have a“high level” restaurant.

“It was a really nice anddifferent period, like a BelleEpoque. Now the restaurant isless important, there’s hundreds

in Como,” Mr Cassani told us.His great-grandmother, who

he described as “very, verystrong”, had three sons, who allwent into the business. Now it isrun mainly by Mr Cassani andhis cousin.

Many famous people havestayed here, from Russian czarsto the royal family of Denmarkand Italian TV and movie stars.

“Once it was different, we

could have popular actors here.Now it’s very difficult, with allthe media around.”

But during World War II therewere unwelcome guests and thehotel was appropriated as theGerman army headquarters inComo. Because Como was soclose to neutral Switzerland,many Jews passed through here,trying to get across the borderand on to Palestine or theUnited States. The Cassanissheltered some in the basement.

“Here was the headquartersand nobody was looking forJewish people here. Mygrandfather and his sister savedmany people. They had them inthe house and were helpingthem to cross the border,” MrCassani says.

Como’s historical role in theend of fascism came whendictator Benito Mussolini wascaptured by the partisans inDongo, on the shores of LakeComo and executed in Giulinodi Mezzegra.

“Then we had the Polishcommand and then the UScommand here and then westarted again with the hotel,”Mr Cassani said. “My father toldme stories. My father likeshistory and family history. Healways tells me he has a diaryand is writing a book.”

Opposite the hotel, work isbeing done on the boardwalkand piers as a new lake front isbeing built to cope withflooding. The square is goingdown and the old buildings aresinking.

His hotel has renovated andclassic rooms. We stayed in a bigclassic one, with a balconyoverlooking the lake.

There are many guests whohave been coming forgenerations and always wantthe same room. They can usethe swimming pools at twovillas which are a boat ride

away, where the water is cleaner. The first thing many tourists

do when they land here is take aboat trip around the lake or stopoff at villages such as Bellagio,where you can admire the 19thcentury villas. Or they head upthe hill on the steep funicular totake in the magnificent view.There’s also hiking in themountains.

If you fly into Milan’sMalpensa International Airporttake the Malpensa Express fromterminal one, which is about45km north-west of the city. Itcosts about $15. Compared withabout $115 for a taxi, it’s a verygood option.

Then you can take a trainfrom Stazione Centrale toComo’s main train station,Como San Giovanni.

Or if you want to go straightto Como from the airport takethe Malpensa Express train forMilan but get off at Saronno andcatch the train from there toComo Nord Lago station. Thewhole journey (Malpensa-Como)takes about one hour and 20minutes.

Trains can also be the bestway to reach other northernItalian towns. Bologna is amajor transport junction andhas half-hourly services toFlorence, Rome and Milan. Thisand other nearby towns, such asPiacenza, Parma, Reggio Emiliaand Modena, are on the sametrain track, as they are allconnected by the Via Emilia,dating back to the Romans.

So if you stay in Parma, forexample, you can do dayexcursions to Piacenza/ ReggioEmilia/ Modena and Bologna as

they are close to each other. Ifyou stay in Bologna, you canreach Ferrara in 45 minutes,Ravenna in one hour, Rimini inone and a half hours and Faenzain one hour.

TIPS FOR TRAIN TRAVEL INNORTHERN ITALY� Second class on regionaltrains is almost identical to firstclass, just a little grubbier.Tickets are about $8-$13.50 for aone-hour trip.� Eurostar trains are better forovernights and longer trips butfor mainly short trips in Italy itprobably isn’t worth getting aEurail pass.� Validate your ticket — afteryou buy a train ticket, you haveto insert it into one of the yellowboxes on the platform, whichprints the date and time on it.The inspector will check yourticket and if it isn’t validatedthere’s a heavy fine.� You can also get fined if you’rein the wrong seats orcompartments. Every train wewent on had an inspector comethrough and check the ticketscarefully. � Binario means platform inItalian, the most importantword for travellers. But thatdoesn’t mean the train willdepart from the allocated one —you can wait for it forever andthen find it left from a differentone. So keep an eye on peoplemoving from platform toplatform, arriving trains canvery quickly change platforms. � Don’t take the names of Italiantrains literally. The acceleratocan be way slower than thelocale and so on. � Ticket machines are confusingand will sell you tickets fortrains leaving from otherstations. It’s better to go to theticket office where the staff arereasonably helpful.� Pack light. Dragging heavysuitcases up and down cementsteps and also up gaps betweenthe platform and the train is notfun. � Buy coffee at the station, thecafes are usually cheap. Takefood with you if necessary as thelocal trains usually don’t haverestaurants.� Taxis are easy and cheap toget from the train station toyour hotel.

As Diana Plater finds, if you can figure outthe trains to Lake Como, plenty awaits

Hotel MetropoleSuisse opposite

Lake Como.Pictures: Diana Plater

Damiano Cassani.

19th century villas line Lake Como. fact file� To check distances and times: www.trenitalia.com.� Inter-country train travel and fast trains: www.raileurope.com.au.� Hotel Metropole Suisse: www.hotelmetropolesuisse.com.� Lake Como information: www.lakecomo.it/en.� Como Tourist Information Office: www.lakecomo.org.� Towns in the Emilia-Romagna area: www.cittadarte.emilia-romagna.itand www.emiliaromagnaturismo.it.� For more information on Italy: www.italiantourism.com.au.� Diana Plater travelled with the Italian Government Tourist Officeand Etihad.

Hectic trains,laidback lake

We spent a weekend in this area, where therich Milanese have holidayed for centuries.

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Diffusione: n.d. Direttore: John Huey da pag. 52

30-MAG-2011

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