Una passeggiata in Svizzera: Val Poschiavo

The lowered car windows, the warm summer wind caressing the face, the sparkling air, the scent of nature that gently nods in the nose and in the distance the whistle of the Bernina Red Train, directed to St. Moritz, which is approaching fast.

I had never been to Switzerland before last summer, but that's how I always imagined it, as in Heidi's cardboard: green lounges with grazing cows, wooden houses, colored geraniums at the windows, majestic lakes, pine forests and paths to discover.

I always preferred the sea to the mountain but I was literally fascinated.

Snow-covered mountains, pristine natural areas, cities and small overflowing cultural landscapes make Switzerland an ideal holiday destination.

A varied landscape of valleys and picturesque cities, especially the Graubünden region, Switzerland's largest canton, the most eastern and the only trilingual. Here everything is different, even the chromatic: red like the Rhaetian railway wagons, yellow like the post bus, blue like the 615 lakes and the sky over the 150 valleys, green like the forests and pastures, golden brown like larches in the fall, gray like fortresses and rocks, and white like snow and glaciers.

And it is in the Canton of Graubünden, in Val Poschiavo, where my trip to Switzerland started.

The natural and cultural landscape of Val Poschiavo is only 25 kilometers from the sparkling Bernina chain to Veltlin vineyards but offers a multitude of natural beauty, beautiful towns with interesting cultural monuments, palaces and churches.

On board the "Red Train" or the "Bernina Express", with the red caravan compositions of the Rhaetian railway, or by car: the route from the Engadine to Val Poschiavo, the southernmost of the 150 valleys of the Graubünden, offers up to the borders with Italy one of Switzerland's most varied landscapes.

The train path on the Bernina Pass from St. Moritz to Val Poschiavo and to Tirano, the Italian border, is an impressive experience. Here the gaze spans the mountain panorama of the Morteratsch glacier, the Diavolezza or the Lagalb glacier. From the Alp Grum you can see the imposing Palu glacier and at the same time the majestic Lake Poschiavo with its cobalt blue waters, a spectacle of nature.

The chief town of the small, unspoiled resort of Val Poschiavo is the town of Poschiavo, whose patrician houses surround the square, giving it a typically Italian character. Poschiavo, in fact, has its charm in the seductive old town, rich in magnificent palaces and vaguely medieval architecture.

And I still remember it, the astonishment on my face and the astonished eyes in front of the beauty of this nature.

Autumn in Lugano

Lugano and the first days of autumn. Lugano, like a picture painted by some kind of great Master.
Lugano, with the rain and the sun, came into my heart. On tiptoe, like a ballerina on the sweet and graceful notes of "Swan Lake".
The city of parks and flower gardens, villas and religious buildings, alpine current and famous chocolate, squares and arcades of the Mediterranean charm of the city center.
A town on a human scale, where getting lost in the streets of the old town, with its many buildings in Lombard style and its exclusive museums, such as the LAC, the cultural center devoted to artistic production and the meeting between the various arts. But Lugano is also the largest city in the Ticino region, as well as being the third largest financial center and the center of conference, banking and business in Switzerland.
From the two closest mountains to Lugano, San Salvatore and Brè, you can admire the magnificent panorama over the city, the lake and surrounding mountains, where you can enjoy the sun of Ticino and daydreaming.
Every corner of the city is a discovery, from the roadside markets, among the luxury boutiques, where delight the palate with typical products or buy local crafts, to those most romantic spots, accessible by boats or cruises, where you can be enchanted by the beautiful landscapes that reveal precious pearls before enjoying great seafood, served in the various restaurants and grottos overlooking the shores of the lake.
Lugano is beauty, nature and marvel in a setting that recalls one of those "007" films. Lugano is a lakeside promenade, lined the Belvedere Gardens and numerous red benches ready to welcome sighs and hugs, to cherish kisses and thoughts, where losing the eyes and heart in such splendor. An invitation to rest, interior and mind tranquility and, yes, even love because, in the world, there is nothing more magical and romantic than a sunset by the lake.