Just enough news to enjoy with your cappuccino...

Ships, statues and stations are our news for today:

Woo Hoo! Great news for tourists in the 2013 season in Stresa! Navigazione Lago Maggiore has just published their 2013 schedule, and it shows a dramatic increase in the number of ferry trips offered. For example, beginning March 24, 2013, enjoy these changes:

--Ferries between Intra and Laveno will run every 20 minutes, instead of the current 30.

--The Carciano - Isola Bella trip will be made 25 times daily, instead of last year's 7.

-- From Stresa and Baveno boats will leave every 30 minutes for the Borromeo Islands; 22 times a day.

--The entire season is lengthened, to coincide with the longer opening schedules at the Borromeo properties and Villa Taranto.

--The popular Lago Maggiore Express will be available Thursday through Sunday during this season, and even more, every day during July and August.

--And once again, certain boats are available for hire for weddings and other private events.

These large increases come after last seasons cuts which were due to the financial crisis the company faced, but now, thankfully, the situation has stabilized. And some more good news -- no price increase! Here's the 2013 schedule.

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History buffs, this one's for you. With about 1000 years of visible and recorded history, one can be kept happily and endlessly entertained exploring the past here. Helping with this task are an almost staggering number of small museums, each focusing on one specific aspect of the past.

For example, these three small museums each pay homage to particular occupations that were prominent in this region centuries ago. At that past time, they were each a true culture in which one was born, lived and died. And many locals can claim, proudly, that their ancestors performed one of these trades: Umbrella makers, chimney sweeps, and hat makers, these museums salute you. 

The word ombrello is derived from the latin 'umbra', meaning shade. An umbrella, which was at first truly a parasol, provided a small bit of shade from the sun, and its use can be traced back centuries in Asia. However, when it comes to the use of an umbrella to protect one from the rain, and in particular the modern folding umbrellas, this innovation can be traced to several inventions here in the region of Piemonte. But you can learn all this, and so much more, when you come to visit the modern Museo dell'Ombrello e del Parasole in Gignese. Gignese is located up the mountain from Stresa, on the way to Mottarone, and can be reached by car and by public bus from Stresa. A visit here is a perfect rainy day activity.  :-)

Inside, the main space of the museum is shaped as if you are under gigantic umbrellas. There are more than 1000 umbrellas and parasols on display. The history of these local umbrella-makers is quite fascinating  A very protective and insular group, they developed a true culture all there own, so much so that they had their own dialectal language, understood only by them, and further creating an exclusivity to their ranks. Umbrellas made here were prized throughout Europe for their beauty and quality. How proud are the locals of their umbrella-making past? Well, the cat holding umbrella statue in front of the church in neighboring Carpugnino is one sign... There is some additional interesting information about this history on that post. 

The museum is open from April 1 through September 30, closed on Mondays (unless the Monday is an official holiday, in which case it is open). Hours are 10:00 am to noon, and again from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

As of this writing, admission is 2.50 euro, with reduced prices for groups and students.

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