Tre Domande -- Three Questions With Canio Di Milia, Mayor of Stresa

In this new feature I plan on occasion to introduce you to some Stresiani, people who live in Stresa. I'll ask them each three questions, and in this way we'll get to know them and hear their own perspectives on this lovely little city. For my very first interview I have the great honor of introducing you to il Primo Cittadino di Stresa, that is, the mayor. Canio Di Milia has been the mayor of Stresa since 2005, and he was kind enough to take the time to answer three questions for me.

1. Please describe Stresa for my English-speaking readers who have never been there.

Stresa is a city that captures its visitors with its natural beauty. For its lush greenness and for its flowers. We are, in fact, a city known for its gardens, where it is also possible to see and discover diverse styles and philosophies of gardening, from Italianate gardens on Isola Bella, to those in the English style on Isola Madre, to that specializing in the Alpine botanical species at Il Giardino Alpinia. These natural beauties are found between the water, Lago Maggiore, and the mountain, Mt. Mottarone, Stresa’s own mountain. These characteristics make Stresa, from a certain point of view, unique and magical, and they have permitted, almost naturally, that these natural beauties have paired with numerous cultural initiatives. Think to the concerts of the “Settimane Musicali di Stresa e del Lago Maggiore,” or to the philosophical-humanistic culture found here in the presence of the immortal spirits of the philosopher Rosmini and the poet Rebora, the symposium Rosmini, and the International Center of Rosminian Studies. And there is also its great cuisine, inspired by the Scuola Alberghiera of Stresa, which is the oldest cooking school in all of Italy.

2. What thing do you like the most in Stresa?

If I must say what, to me it pleases most Isola Pescatori, where it is possible to rediscover the charm of a little village of another time, where fishermen really do live, with a romantic atmosphere of an earlier age.

3. How do you see Stresa five years from now?

Stresa, five years from now, will be renewed but always in our historic tradition. It needs in fact, for the future, to move in the direction of a more selective level of tourism, and more respect for the environment, the things which are most precious for the city.

Canio keeps a blog of his own for the citizens of Stresa to read. If you'd like to take a glance at his (Italian) blog, or listen to the video talks he gives on it, here is the link: www.caniodimilia.blogspot.com

Ski Season Opens December 5 On Mt. Mottarone

In just a few days, On December 5, Mt. Mottarone will open its ski resort for the 2009 - 2010 season. The opening, as always, coincides with the official beginning of the Christmas season in Italy. So far, the opening looks good to go. The first dustings of snow fell last week, and with the lower temperatures and rainy days of this week the summit of the mountain will surely be ready. We've talked about Mt. Mottarone in winter here before, but let's review again for the new season and all those of you who are coming here, or thinking of coming here, to ski. In addition, there are some new features at Mottarone to talk about.

Mottarone is a surprisingly large mountain which rises 4892 ft/1491 m. behind Stresa. The summit, where the ski runs begin, can be reached with the 18 minute ride on the cableway from Carciano, or, with the 20 minute drive up the private mountain road (there is a small fee required on the last part of this road). Last year saw the opening of a new, short ski lift which brings skiers and visitors from the cableway station at the top a bit higher, to the ski station, eliminating what previously had to be done on foot, with skis over shoulders.

Now let's look at the new features this year:

In the area of the mountain called Campetti Milanese a section has been enclosed and will now be used for the renting and riding of small motorized sleds and miniquads, providing an alternative activity for skiers, or perhaps for those who do not ski.

Attention has been given to the littlest guests this year; and Sunday afternoons beginning on December 28 will see special events just for them. In addition to the lesson groups already available for young skiers, Sundays they will be visited by, and have the opportunity to ski with Motty, the costumed blue bear mascot of Mt. Mottarone. Motty and his friends will have games, entertainment, and music exclusively for the children.

Another new initiative, from December 24, each Tuesday and Friday, inside of the daily journal Libero, look for a coupon which will give a 3 euro discount on the price of a daily skipass. Just clip the coupons and use them at any time during the season, bringing it with you when you purchase your ski pass.

Mt. Mottarone boasts 21 km of ski runs and 7 chair lifts taking skiers to 21 different trails. There are runs to please all levels, from beginner to expert. The mountain's unique position provides sunshine on all runs for much of each day, and the mountain is fully staffed, including many persons qualified to assist should medical aid be necessary.

There are several restaurants in which one can warm up, sit by a fire, eat comforting mountain food, and drink the specialty, fil de fer.

Tickets can be purchased at the cableway station, at the tourist office at the Stresa embarcadero, and at several tourist agency offices. For more information on Mt. Mottarone's winter skiing:

Here is the link for the winter cableway schedule: http://www.stresa-mottarone.it/winter_timetable_rates.htm

And the link to Mottarone's main ski Web site: http://www.mottaroneski.it/it/index.php

Don't forget to check at the station for any potential weather closings, and don't forget, it will be much colder at the top!

Visit the Web sites, and don't hesitate to write to us if you have any questions regarding your trip.

Motty is waiting to ski with you!

Soup... Italian Style

Allora, we were in a restaurant, Giuseppe and I, and I was talking with our friend, the chef, about the soups on the menu. It’s cold days now, and I love soup. But I discovered in Italy, it was a bit more complicated than just soup. It seems I like... well.. here's how he described Italian soups to me:

Me: What's this one then?

Him: It’s just a broth, a brodo.

Me: Well, the brodo sounds delicious. And would be even better if it had some vegetables in it.

Him: That would be a good idea, but then it wouldn’t be a brodo anymore.

Me: No?

Him: Nope. Then it would be a minestra.

A brodo with veggies is a minestra.

And a brodo with pasta in it becomes a pastina.

Pastina is pasta inside of brodo.

Me: I see…

I’d call them all soup. Just soup.

Me: I like when my soup is full of things. More like a stew actually… Like if you took a stew and added more liquid, drop by drop, until it crosses some line of liquid-ness where it is a soup and not a stew, that’s what I like. With a nice crusty bread...

Him: Capisco, but if there is stuff like bread in the broth or the minestra, then it is zuppa.

Me: Si, soup.

Him: Nope. Zuppa.

Me: All soup. Just soup. Soup.

Me: You know what I like? Bisque, I love bisque. That has a different name too.. not soup.

Him: Hmm. What is it?

Me: It’s soup.

Him: What kind?

Me: It is quite thick, and cream-based,

Him: Oh, ok! Then it’s the passato here on the menu! Like a zuppa, but thick with cream and things in it.

Me: Si, and it is usually made with seafood things… lobster bisque per esempio. Or shrimp or crab bisque. What you do is blend it all very smooth so that…

Him: Wait , wait… If you blend it, then it is not a passato. Then it’s the vellutata. It means velvet.

Me: Vellutata. Ok, well, I love vellutata, and that's a perfect name for it. We sometimes put small pieces of bread or crackers in it...

Him: Don’t put too many. Or it will become a zuppa again.

Me: Of course. Foolish of me.

Him: The word is from inzuppare… to put things in liquid to absorb. That’s where zuppa comes from.

Me: Well cat my dog…I always thought zuppa meant soup.

Zuppa.

Zupp.

Zoop.

Soup.

And here, to clarify the subject, are some photos I found to illustrate the different types of Italian soups:

Brodo di Carne

Minestra

Pastina in Brodo


Zuppa di Pesce

Passato di Pomodoro

Vellutata di Marroni

Ti piacciono queste minestre? Quale tipo preferisci?
Do you like these soups? Which do you prefer?

Thanks to all the Italian recipe sites where I found these appetizing images.

Favorite Quotations -- Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving From Stresa Sights To All!

Yes, Thanksgiving is mostly about the food... and the shopping. But we also do pause to be thankful, to appreciate what we have, the people that we have. And we make certain that they know they are appreciated. Here's wishing everyone a very happy holiday, whether you are celebrating today where you live or not. Please take a moment to be thankful, and not just today, but always.

the photo was taken on my street in West Chester, on a recent beautiful autumn day

Natale 2009 a Stresa

It seems that a lot of my readers will be in Stresa during the winter; many over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Lucky, lucky, lucky people... The Italian Christmas season officially begins on December 8, on the Festa dell'Immacolata Concezione della Beata Vergine Maria , and it ends on January 6, on the day called L'Epifania. Natale in Stresa looks to be wonderful, with a very rich program of events planned including concerts, special masses, special markets for food and crafts, and shows for the children. And it wouldn't be Christmas here without traditional bonfires and free hot chocolates and vin brules. Here's a partial list of activities; check the activity calendar on the right for specific days and times if you'll be here, and keep your eyes open for other events not listed here.

Concerts: Throughout the month of December look for many free classical concerts at several of the local churches. Of special note would be the December 7 concert in tiny, centuries old Chiesa San Vittore on Isola Pescatore. Throughout the month there are also several concerts in the parrocchial churches in the villages surrounding Stresa. A wonderful way to hear beautiful music, see some of the smaller churches, and get into the Christmas mood.

Bonfires: A large bonfire will start off the season on the lungolago, in front of the Hotel Astoria, on the evening of December 8. There will be free hot drinks.

Presepio: Continuing the very successful tradition, the presepi, nativity scenes, will once again be on display all around Isola Bella, as well as in various other places around the city. Here's a link to some beautiful presepi photos from Natale 2008. This year, also look for a very special presepio in the Spazio Luparia gallery, by artist Giuseppe Loda.

Foods: Take advantage of all the free hot chocolates and vin brule' to keep warm while walking around Stresa. And of course enjoy some panettone and pandoro. Last year I wrote a bit about the history of these cakes, take a look at the link if you'd like to learn a bit more about them.

It's not brutally cold in Stresa during December. It's just cold enough to enjoy buying scarves in the marketplace and wrap up in them, to sip hot chocolates, to wrap your hands around a warm vin brule', and to really feel the Christmas spirit.

Oh, here's one more thing you can't forget... The hot chocolates given out free around town are more of what I would call the American version. But at least once, be sure you sit down inside in one of the bars for a true Italian cioccolata calda; there is nothing like it...

Antonio Rosmini

Il Collegio Rosmini, on the hill behind the city of Stresa, as seen from Lago Maggiore.

This week there was a special mass held in Stresa, at la Chiesa del Ss. Crocifisso at the Collegio Rosmini. The mass was in celebration of the second anniversary of the beatification of Antonio Rosmini, which took place on November 18, 2007, after it was authorized by Pope Benedetto XVI.

This is the interior of the sanctuary at la Chiesa del Ss. Crocifisso at the College.

It's impossible to walk around Stresa without noticing the name Antonio Rosmini, and wondering, maybe, who was this man who is featured so prominently here. There are streets and buildings named for him, a statue of him along the lungolago, and of course, the imposing college that sits on a hilltop on the southern side of town. Born into a wealthy and respected family of Roverato in 1797, Rosmini decided at an early age to enter the priesthood and was ordained in 1821. He studied much philosophy, and wrote much on the subject, but by the 1840s his beliefs and his writings had aroused great opposition in the church, and many became forbidden readings. Rosmini, confident in his convictions, retired. He moved to Stresa, where he had already established a boarding school and center of education, thanks to the very generous donations of Anna Maria Bolongaro, a wealthy and devout Stresiana who was a friend and follower. He would live in Stresa for the rest of his life. During his years in Stresa he taught his beliefs to his followers, who are called Rosminians. The Rosminians were both priests and non-clergy who believed in his ideas, and they followed his practice of educating youth, preaching, and performing works of universal charity. Before he died, in 1855, he did have the satisfaction of knowing that his questionable works had been declared free from censure.

What were his teachings that were so controversial? Rosmini devoted his studies to the old questions asked by many of the ancient philosophers, those of the origins, truths, and certainties of our ideas, and what, in essense, our human sense of 'being' is, where it derives from.

Clearly, the perception of Rosmini's works and his teachings have changed much in the 150 years since his death. So much so that on June 26, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree recognizing Rosmini's heroic virtues, declaring him to be Venerable. Then followed the beatification in November 2007. Should any miracles be attributed to Rosmini and should they be proven, he will become a saint. In the meantime, members of his parish are permitted to pray to him.

Today, the Collegio Rosmini in Stresa is a world renowned religious, cultural, and educational center. Inside, Rosmini's remains are interred in a crypt in the Chiesa dal Ss. Crocifisso. His bones are watched over by statues of the saints from the Lago Maggiore area. In a side chapel is a statue of Rosmini, kneeling with a book, sculpted by Vincenzo Vela of Ticino.

Do you like looking at different churches? Here's are a couple of other posts written about some:

Chiesa di Santo Gervasio e Protasio -- Baveno's Parish Church
Chiesa di San Remigio -- The Place I Didn't Go

Or take a look at the entire category here.

Inbox

This one was fun! A reader wrote with the following question:

Q: I am trying to locate a retailer that sells (Murano) Glass Miniature clowns in the centre of the town. If my memory serves me correct it had a corner frontage as well as looking onto a piaza. I am trying to locate it for further purchases.

A: I am almost certain that the shop you are describing is called Leone, the bookshop that is on the corner of Piazza Cadorna and Via P. Tomaso. I myself have bought some Murano glass jewelry and gifts there...

And I thought at this the question had been answered, until I received another mail saying:

I just realized this is not the shop as I do not recall it selling books/stationery, nor is it on a corner opposite a piazza.

I was at a loss for how to assist this writer further, as I'm not in Stresa at the moment, but we don't give up easily; my colleague in town went on a search for me, and we provided the writer with a photograph of Murano clowns in the window of the shop called Pessina, in Piazza Cadorna. We received this mail in return:

You have made my day as this is the shop!
I cannot thank you enough for all your efforts, your friends included.

YES!! 100% satisfaction... that's our goal, and we won't rest until we've succeeded.

Ernest Hemingway's Stresa

Hemingway rowing in front of Hotel des Iles Borromees.

I've started rereading Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. It's been a long, long time since I've read the classic, and that was certainly long before I had ever heard of an Italian city named Stresa, or would know how it would come to figure into my life. It's well known that Stresa is the setting for one portion of the novel; but what isn't as known is how semi-autobiographical the story is, and how Hemingway's own experiences in Stresa shaped those that he wrote about.

In 1918, the 19-year-old Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American Red Cross Volunteer, driving an ambulance in Italy. After being injured at Fossalta di Piave, in July 1918, he was sent to the Red Cross hospital in Milan. There, he had hundreds of pieces of schrapnel removed from his legs, and during his recuperation, he fell in love with his nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky. By September, Ernest was well enough to be given a 10-day pass from the hospital, and decided to go to Stresa to regain his strength in the fresh air of the lake. He wore the ring that Agnes had given to him. He was traveling with another ambulance driver, Johnny Miller, and they stayed in Room 106 at the Hotel des Iles Borromees, a first-floor suite that overlooks the gardens in front of the hotel and looks to the islands in the gulf beyond. He wrote to his parents: "I'm up here at Stresa a little resort on Lake Maggiore one of the most beautiful of the Italian Lakes." While there, young Ernest was known to enjoy martinis at the bar, and to play billiards with Conte Emanuele Greppi. He also became friendly with Bianca Bellia, daughter of Piervincenzo Bellia, who was one of the wealthiest men in Italy at that time. It is known that they took a trip up the Mottorone tram together, to the top of Mt. Mottarone, to take in a view of the lake, the lakes surrounding it, and the Swiss Alps to their north.

It's clear to see the many parallels between this trip of Ernest's and the setting as used in A Farewell to Arms. The major difference, of course, is that while this trip was a pleasant diversion for Ernest, for Frederick Henry the area is gray and cold and muddy, and it marks the beginning of the tragic end to the story of him and the nurse Catherine Barclay.

A Farewell to Arms was published in 1929. Hemingway returned to Stresa fondly, saying that it felt like home to him, and staying always in suite 106. There are many photos of Hemingway in the hotel; at the bar, and in a small fishing boat in the lake among them. The influence on the book is obvious; what is interesting to me is how Hemingway was able to transform the beauty he himself experienced in Stresa into the tragic setting of the story. What I like to remember, however, is how much Hemingway enjoyed it here, for the same reasons that we all do.

This is but one fascinating footnote in Stresa's long history; Perhaps you'll enjoy these others also:

The Story of L'Idrovolante
Isola Bella, Beautiful Island -- A Little Background
Or read through all of the History posts here.

All images courtesy of the Comune di Stresa.

Stresa -- Community of Flowers 2009!

In the summer of 2009, Stresa entered itself into a national contest in Italy, that being for the award of 'Comune Fioriti,' Floral Community... I'm so pleased and proud to report that this past Sunday, when the winners were chosen in a ceremony in Pre-Saint-Didier, in Valle d'Aosta, Stresa was crowned the winner in the category of cities with 3,000 to 20,000 people. And if that isn't accolade enough, during the presentation a special honor was also bestowed upon Stresa. Each year, as part of the competition, two communities are chosen to represent Italy in the larger European "Entente Florale" competition. Stresa was one of the communities chosen for this, the other being Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia, which was the winning town in Italy in the touristic category.

This is no small competiton. 'Comune Fioriti' was started ten years ago, and has grown in stature each year, now attracting 25,000 participating cities annually from all over Europe. The goal is two-fold, to both make these cities more beautiful to those who visit, and to give pleasure also to those who live there. I've always known how beautiful Stresa is in the summer, with flowering gardens along the lungolago and windowboxes on so many balconies; now, Stresa has been officially recognized for these efforts and for its beauty.

The other winners were the village of Fossa, Abruzzo, for communities with fewer than 3,000 residents, Savigliano, Piemonte, for cities of more than 20,000, as well as the previously mentioned Salsomaggiore Terme.