The weather has been absolutely amazing here for the past week. Every day has been full of sunshine but the temperatures have been very pleasant instead of hot. Perfect weather for getting out and doing some longer outdoor adventures. On Monday we hiked the Antica Strada Regina and this morning we rented bikes and headed over to Lake Lugano.
The hike we did on Monday took us along part of the Antica Strada Regina ("Ancient Queen's Road") which was built by the Romans and once connected the smaller towns along the lake's western side.
The 7 kilometer route took us north from Menaggio to the hamlet of Nobiallo where we joined the ancient road at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Pace.
We weren't sure how much of the Roman roadworks actually remained -- I'm sure there has been lots of re-building and shoring up of the path over the centuries. The stone walls definitely didn't look new, so at times it did actually feel like we were centurions marching up, up, up the hillside on the cobblestones.
The road winds through the woods and up about 150 meters over the small mountain called Sasso Rancio which overlooks the lake. Through a clearing we could look down on the hamlet of Nobiallo and see the town of Menaggio in the distance behind us.
It took us about three hours to reach the end of the route, in Santa Maria Rezzonico. This town has a beautiful castle right in the center of town (unfortunately privately owned so no way to visit). One of the towers dates back to the 14th century. We had a nice lunch at the only open restaurant in the small town, then caught the bus back to Menaggio.
One of the other popular excursions to do here (if you have enough time) is to rent e-bikes and ride along the old railway line to the town of Porlezzo on the Italian-Swiss border. It's only 13 kilometers from Menaggio, so it's pretty easy to get there and back in an afternoon.
There is a bike kiosk right next to the Conad grocery store in town. It has been a while since either of us rode a bike, and the electronic settings were a little different than other e-bikes we'd rented before, so we practiced a bit on the quiet side streets of Menaggio before heading off along the main road to the start of the bike route. But we got the hang of it pretty quickly and my bike had a neat little attachment to hold my phone so I could take some photos while we rode.
Okay, selfies were tricky, but I did get quite a few nice ones of Kevin going ahead on the route. Did I mention that the weather was absolutely glorious? It was the perfect day for a bike ride! The nice part about this adventure was that the route was almost entirely car-free. There was a short section where we had to get back on a main road, but other than that we only encountered other bicyclists, a few walkers, and the occasional goat or cow.
Parts of the bike path follow along an old train track that once connected Menaggio with the town of Porlezza, which is just before you get to the Swiss border. The railway ran from 1884 to 1939 connecting Lake Como to Lake Lugano. After World War II the train line was abandoned, as there were now more modern roads connecting the lake towns. Before you get to Porlezza, the trail leads you first past Lago di Piano, which is a tiny lake between Lake Como and Lake Lugano.
We stopped here for a bit. Lago di Piano is a nature reserve and a breeding ground for water birds. They had a nice visitor center which happened to be open when we came through, so we could learn about all the birds, fish, and animals that call this place home. The lake and rivers in the area provide habitat for several types of deer, beavers, squirrels and small mammals, and lots of birds including ducks, coots, grebes, swans, and herons.
We continued on along the river Cuccio until we reached the town of Porlezza on Lake Lugano. This lake is partly in Italy and partly in Switzerland. Compared to Lake Como with its many speedboats and loud ferries, this lake was tranquil and still in comparison.
We actually could have continued all the way to the town of Lugano in Switzerland if we'd been willing to bike another hour. But that would have also added an hour to the return trip. As it was, we'd already been biking for two hours and it was lunchtime. So we found a nice spot and enjoyed the late September sunshine and views of Lake Lugano before heading back the way we came.
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