A reader just wrote:
"HI, WE HAVE BOOKED LA LOMBARDA FOR MAY AND ARE REALLY EXCITED. ANY CHANCE OF MORE PHOTOS?"
And so, if you don't mind a bit of self-promotion (hey, we are super proud!) here are some photos of La Lombarda. So far on websites we have posted a photo of the entrance side, let's call it the front. It is painted a deep red and at night is lit with very striking LED lights. The opposite side of La Lombarda, by contrast, is painted orange and has a very different look. You wouldn't know they were the same building, if shown side-by-side, and in my opinion, the orange side is the more interesting. The orange side has an unusual, asymmetrical shape, the terraces (as it is the side that gets all the sun), and the orange side has retained much more of the look of the old building than this front, red side. Let's look at some details...
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The most striking detail on the back, according to me, is the original fresco that runs along three sides of the orange facade. In the renovation of the building it was required, by the Stresa City Counsel, that the fresco be not only preserved but restored. A wonderfully talented artist, Enzo, was brought in to do the restoration. Working on a scaffold for some weeks he recreated the fresco. He then gave it an overwash,restoring just a bit of age. He also created the window seen here below the fresco. This one is not a real window, but one painted on for the design look of the building.
Here's a closeup, above, and a view from further back. In the photo below, the grey shutters had not yet been added to the windows, but you get a sense of more of the span of the design. I don't know when the original fresco was painted, but there was a time when the motif of flowers, garlands, and fruits was very popular. Look around Stresa and you will find it in many places. Also in the photo below there is another item saved from the original structure, the ceramic madonna medallion.
As you can see below, this also has the fruit motif. These medallions are very commonly seen on buildings in Italy; this one was carefully removed during the works and then even more carefully reattached in the original location. She is high up off the street where you need to zoom in with your camera to have a good detailed look at her, but I am very happy that also this element has been saved and now is back on the building.
One item is newly added on the orange wall: The ceramic Monarch butterfly below the Madonna. There she is, below... She was purchased at a lovely shop just down the street from La Lombarda, and she was added here on the building as what may be the nicest and most special surprise gift I have ever been given. :-)
Okay. We also have, if you look to the very tippy-top of the roof, a beautiful copper rooster. He doesn't serve any purpose apart from being adorable, and I promise you, he doesn't crow in the morning.
I hope you've enjoyed seeing the fresco, and other little bits of La Lombarda. The fresco may be my favorite element of the building, and yet I feel it might go unnoticed by many. We're very proud of the completed building, and I hope you have the chance to come and say hello someday. I will leave you today with a view from inside the ristorante, looking out to the garden, which has just been opened with the arrival of some very nice warm weather.
Thank you for indulging me! To be involved with this project has been consuming and fantastic. To see it come to fruition and far lovelier than I had ever imagined is even better.