Just enough news to digest with a cup of cappuccino...

If you’re in town on March 8 grab your sneakers and join in the second-annual Lago Maggiore Half-Marathon. The event, which last year attracted over 1,500 runners, begins at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Stresa, and follows a beautiful and flat course along the lake.

Work has begun on the so-called “Ice-Hotel” in Macugnana. Macugnana is a fascinating and historic village, at the foot of Mt. Rosa, with a strong Walser Swiss influence.Mark your calendars, by next winter one should be able to stay overnight, or visit the bar, in this ice palace.

The Stresa Carnevale festivities begin. First, costume parades this weekend for young and old. On Tuesday, it is a double festival in Piazza Cadorna, the piazza will be filled with tables offering traditional polenta and salami, and well as regional chocolate specialities. Later, King Falcett and his court will make their procession through town.

Dates have been set for Stresa for New Orleans, the annual summer Jazz festival. From June 25 to July 5, one can hear six different jazz bands performing along the Lungolago in Stresa. This event was born in 2006, to bring attention to, and raise money to replace, the many instruments lost to poor New Orleans musicians during Hurricane Katrina.

In the next couple of weeks I plan to write about a few more museums and winter activities, partly in preparation for my own upcoming trip on March 15. Come back and take a look. And as always, if you have any suggestions for topics, questions, or things to share, please send them in.

Thanks, as always, to Stresa 2.0, www.stresaduepuntozero.blogspot.com, for my news information.

Taking aperitivo is absolutely positively one of the things that I enjoy most about life in Italy. And the stuzzichini are one of the reasons why I love aperitivo so. You see, aperitivo consists of two parts. There is the bevanda, the drink. And then there are the stuzzichini. Stuzzichini are the little foods, we’d call them appetizers, that are put out, most often for free, in the bars during aperitivo time. Here are a few photos of favorite stuzzichini I have had in and around Stresa.

Hey big guy! I have to say that every time I see this statue in Arona. Because this guy is big. How big you ask? He’s 36 meters (115 feet) tall. His arm is 9.1 meters long (30 feet), the thumb 1.4 meters (4.5 feet). That’s big. Even more impressive when you consider that he was built in 1697. Giovanni Battisti Crespi designed the giant statue and then had it constructed on a hill overlooking Arona and Lago Maggiore. There is a hollow concrete core over which copper plates were joined together to form the body. The head and arm, however, are made of bronze. Up until the time the Statue of Liberty was built in 1885, this was the tallest statue in the world, and also the tallest enterable monument. That’s right. You can go inside the statue and, by climbing a series of steep and scary stairs, a jumble of iron and wood, reach the windows in the eyes and ears, for a view of the town and the lake.

Who da man! San Carlo Borromeo is the man, that’s who. Carlo was a nephew of Pope Pius IV, and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who lived from 1538 to 1584. The colossus was meant to be part of a large complex of buildings celebrating the life of Carlone, big Carlo, as he is sometimes affectionately called, but ultimately only three chapels were completed.

In the center of Arona, in Corso Cavour, there is another, much smaller version of the statue, he’s called Carlino, little Carlo. But man oh man, you should go see the big guy.

Views of the interior of the statue.

Arona is 22 km to the west of Stresa by car, about a 25 minute car trip, or take a boat for the 40-minute ride.

Just enough news to digest with a cup of cappuccino...

The Lago Maggiore Solar Challenge 2009 will take place the 11 and 12 of July. The competition for solar-powered boats will begin in Dormelletto, with stops in several towns along the lake. Several of those towns will also hold exhibitions, explaining certain features of this innovative technology.

It has been announced that the London Symphony will open this year’s Settimane Musicale di Stresa. Other noted musical groups already set to appear are the BBC Philharmonic, the Palatino Concert, and the Israel Philharmonic Brass Quartet. The festival will run from May 2 to 17.

Plans were unveiled for the new theatre to be built in Verbania, near the lakefront. The exciting design, by Spanish architect Salvador Perez Arroyo, shows a building formed of four scultural shapes, a main theatre to hold 500, smaller theatre for experimental shows and conferences, a bookshop, bar, a restaurant, and underground parking.

Poll results: 31 of you responded to the question: Which of these people has NOT been to Stresa? And the answer is… Well, I sort of blew it. It turns out all of these people have been to Stresa. Ernest Hemingway visited many times between 1918 and the 1950s, in fact, he set part of his novel “Farewell to Arms” here; Winston Churchill spent his honeymoon in the luxurious Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees; Benito Mussolini took part in the Stresa Front, the important, but ultimately unsuccessful meeting in Stresa on April 14, 1935 between the leaders of Italy, France, and Great Britain. The purpose of the meeting was to try to contain Nazi Germany; Princess Diana was in Stresa in 1984 when she and other dignitaries and celebrities visited the Borromeo family on Isola Bella; Gina Lollobrigida came in second at the second Miss Italy contest, held in Stresa in 1946; and George Clooney, well, I thought George had kept to himself on Lake Como but it turns out that he visited Stresa just this past summer to look at a property for sale. And how about you? Have YOU been to Stresa yet?

The fog. I hardly understand what thing is the fog, and I don't like it. It makes things grey, it limits my sight, but when I discovered how it feeds and protects the acids of the grapes from which comes my favorite wine I changed my mind.

It's been attempted to cultivate the Nebbiolo in other places in the world, but it has always failed. In the way that God has fixed the stars in their certain points in the sky to guide millions of travelers, perhaps he has also put the Nebbiolo here, in Piemonte, with the fog and the perfect conditions, as a fixed starting point, the reference point, for other wine to look to.

Snow is the big Stresa news this week. Not enough to disrupt services but certainly more than Stresa is used to, about 6 inches in total falling over a period of a few days. Stresiani woke up to not a White Christmas but a Bianca Epifania, a White Epiphany, on January 6. It didn't stop the La Befana witch from coming though; she made her appearance in Piazza Marconi as usual, handing out her candy (and coal sometimes) and officially ending the holiday season…

Look for Stresa on RAI Uno on January 17 when the Italian TV series Easy Rider airs a segment filmed on Lago Maggiore in December. In this episode traveling stars Ilaria Moscato and Marcellino Mariucci visit some of the most enchanting locations around and in Lago Maggiore, taking the ferry from Laveno, making stops at the Borromean Islands and in Stresa….

There’s a new restaurant that I can’t wait to try. All'Osteria celebrated its grand opening last week with an open house night. The crowd had the opportunity to taste some of the regional Piemontese specialities; I heard the risotto is excellent…. All'Osteria, via S. Pietro 23, Graglia Piana di Brovello Carpugnino, Hours: 11-14, 19-23 (closed Tuesday). Price per person: about 30 €.

Poll answer: Thanks to all who answered this week’s easy poll. As 84% of you knew, Stresa in 1998 celebrated 1000 years of history. The earliest recorded mention of Stresa known so far dates from 998, and as the sign entering the city proudly reminds us, that is 1000 years of hospitably serving all who come here.

You can’t compare the cioccolata calda, hot chocolate, that you get in Italy with anything you may be used to or have had anywhere else. The Italian version is thick, as thick as chocolate syrup almost, thick enough for a little spoon to stay centered in without falling over, and certainly as sweet as syrup, but with richer, denser chocolate. The first cup I had, at Caffe degli Artisti, in Stresa, took me completely by surprise, and to my American taste was almost too rich, too forbidden, like eating the cake batter from the bowl, or frosting straight from the can.

But fortunately it’s not forbidden, it’s encouraged and readily available at bars and restaurants, and I highly recommend it. Start with the classic, cioccolata extrafondente, but then get adventurous and try some of the dozens of other decadent flavor combinations. Here's a very, very partial list of the flavors that can be combined with the basic chocolate: amaretto, lemon/pinoli, orange/vanilla, coconut, walnut, pistacchio, wild berries, rum, and zabaione! Or how about hot chocolate with whiskey... That’s one way to warm up on a chilly Italian winter morning.

If you'd like to try this at home here’s the basic recipe:

· 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

· 1/3 cup sugar

· 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot

· 2 cups milk or half milk-half water

1. Mix the cocoa, sugar and cornstarch together until thoroughly blended.

2. Add 1/2 cup liquid to a medium saucepan and set over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa mixture until thoroughly incorporated and no lumps remain. Add the rest of the liquid.

3. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until the mixture is thickened (it coats the back of a spoon), about ten minutes.

4. The cornstarch is a great thickener - it won't clump like flour will, it's smooth and tasteless. Don't use regular flour to thicken this.

5. Serving-wise, once the cocoa has thickened, you can stir in a hint of additional flavorings before serving. 1/4 tsp vanilla or almond extract or Grand Marnier would be nice. Dust with cinnamon or nutmeg. Alternatively, you can make this, substituting half the liquid with coffee, to make a nice mocha.

6. Double or triple the amount of the dry ingredients, mix, and keep in a sealed jar in the cupboard. To make, it's one part mix to two parts liquid. Just remember to give the mix a shake before using, to reintegrate the sugar.

The above amount will make two nice sized cups. I’m sure you can find a friend to share it with…

Where are the hot chocolate hot spots in Stresa? I like these:
Caffe degli Artisti, via Principe Tomaso 42/44
Caffe Moka Stresa, via A.M. Bolongaro 26