OAT: Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites, and Lombardy
May 4 - 23, 2023
After a number of moves and cancellations, mostly due to Covid in one way or another, we were finally able to take OAT's Northern Italy trip. The scenery was beautiful - lakes and mountains and vineyards, etc. - and the small Italian towns were both quaint and picturesque. All-in-all, it was worth the wait to do the trip.
May 4-5
May 5-6
May 7
Milan: Santa Maria delle Grazie; Casa degli Atellani House; Leonardo's Vineyard; Milan City Tour
May 8
Varenna to Tirano: Varenna
May 9
Tirano: Castella delle Acqua
May 10
Tirano: Bernina Express; Mount Diavolezza
May 11
Tirano to Lake Iseo: Edolo; Franciacorte Region
May 12
Lake Iseo: Walking Tour; Monte Isola
May 13
Iseo to Trento: Desenzano; El Mato Leather Store; Duomo of St. Maria Maddelena; Frantoio Manestrini Olive Oil Mill; Trento: Sass Underground Archaeological Space
May 14
Trento: City tour; Castello del Buonconsiglio Museum; Cathedral di San Vigilio
May 15
May 16
May 17
May 18
To Villa Corner: Agriturismo Orchard
May 19 - 21
Visiting relatives: Sacile: Pordenone; Bassano Del Grappo; Marostica; Vittorio Veneto; Polcenigo
May 22 May 23 Thurs., & Fri., 5/4 & 5/23 - Tucson to Chicago to Milan to Malgrate (Lecco) on Lake Como
Today's departure was from the very reasonable time of 11:38 AM for our United flight to Chicago. A 4-hour layover and an overnight flight put us in Milan about 16-hours later. An OAT rep met us in Milan and took us to our driver who drove like an Italian race car driver, but got us to the Hotel Griso, in Malgrate on Lake Como, where we were met by the OAT Tour Experience Leader (TEL), Valerio.
Our room overlooks Lake Como and, across the lake, the city of Lecco. Valerio took us on a short walk along the lake promenade to show us some restaurants and a gelato store, pharmacy, and grocery (Alimentaria). At 6:15 we met the other 11 members of our group at a wine and hors d’oeuvres “Welcome” time.
Trip Map: OAT: Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites, and Lombardy
Flag of Italy
EU license plate
Lecco - across Lake Como from our hotel
Lake Como and the Alps from our hotel
Lecco - across Lake Como from our hotel
Lecco - across Lake Como from our hotel
Chapel of San Martino on the mountainside above Lecco
The Alps above Lake Como
Cave in the mountainside
Rower on Lake Como
Lake Como is almost 1,400 feet deep and is fed by 17 rivers. It drains into the Adda River, a tributary of the Po River, and eventually into the Adriatic Sea near Venice.
Sat., 5/6/23 - Lecco
The day's activities began with a walking tour in Lecco that took us first across the J.F. Kennedy Bridge (renamed so after JFK was assassinated) and then past the monument to author Allesandro Manzoni and the Santuario Nostra Signora della Vittoria church, dedicated to the fallen in WWI. The pedestrian streets were crowded with Saturday strollers, dog walkers, and people enjoying the sunny summery day. Valerio left us on our own to wander the narrow twisted, picturesque streets. We entered the Basilica of St. Nicholas. It was a typical marble, elaborate, and frescoed Italian Catholic church.
Hotel Griso - from Lecco
Statue of Allesandro Manzoni - Author of the
novel "The Betrothed"- first published in 1827
Santuario Nostra Signora della Vittoria
Façade over the door of the Santuario Nostra Signora della Vittoria
Street scene
Sign for a local butcher's shop
Not as fancy as some
Bell tower of the Basilica of St. Nicolo (Saint Nicholas) - the neo-Gothic tower is 315-ft. (96 meters) tall and is called, “The Pencil."
Basilica of St. Nicolo
Interior of the Basilica of St. Nicolo
Organ in the Basilica of St. Nicolo
Interesting coat of arms and design on the street
After returning to our hotel, we watched some of the coronation of Charles III on a French TV station, broadcast in English. Then we celebrated King Charles with a gelato from Tato Gelato Sas. We love Italian gelato.
At 5:30 the group took a boat ride on Lake Como from Lecco north to Mandello del Lario. The water taxi was pretty small and it was a tight squeeze for all 15 of us.
Map of Lake Como - we motored from Lecco north to
Mandello del Lario
Our boat - not really big enough for comfort
Graffiti along the lake side wall
Nice sailboat
Highway along the lake
Mandello del Lario - once an active fishing village,
now motorcycles are built there.
Mandello del Lario
Mandello del Lario - The houses were, and still are, painted in different colors to help fishermen find their docks in the heavy lake fog. The houses also share common walls to maintain heat in the cold winter.
Openings to tunnel in the old road along the lake - The road was closed and rebuilt further from the shore after a landslide. The tunnel is for sale for 350,000 Euros to any enterprising individual who can find a use for it.
Huge gravel pit perched precariously above the lake
Old sawdust burner
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