Italy Gives Lugano Its Heritage

The flag bears a white cross on a field of red. The money here also is Swiss. But for travelers to this country’s southernmost canton of Ticino, there’s a feeling of Italy--with all of its warmth, culture, language, sights and sounds.

Lugano, in an almost subtropical bay about halfway down the shore of Lake Lugano, has been called an Italian jewel set in a Swiss watch.

The canton became part of the Swiss Confederation in 1803, and the Ticinese are fiercely proud of their Italian heritage. Architecture fairly breathes the Mediterranean air of Italy, and many citizens of Lugano still venture forth to shop in Italy across the nearby border.

This proximity to Italy has caused the shores of Lake Lugano to be a haven for smugglers through the years.

To get here: Fly TWA, American or Pan Am to Zurich, or Balair through October, when Swissair begins nonstop Los Angeles-Zurich service. Take a train ride through the heart of Switzerland to Lugano, perhaps using a Swiss Pass, which allows rides on trains, buses, lake steamers and city trams throughout the country.

How long/how much? Give Lugano two days, maybe another for boat trips to the Swiss and Italian towns rimming Lake Lugano. Lodging costs are moderate for Switzerland, dining the same.

A few fast facts: The Swiss franc recently traded at 1.5 to the dollar, or 66 cents each. Weather is lovely most of the year, although the altitude and water generate morning haze during summers. City buses run along the lake front and inland at 10-minute intervals.

Getting settled in: International au Lac (Via Nassa 68; $86-$121 double B&B;) is on a small piazza in the heart of town. A family-run hotel in the traditional mold, with handsome antiques and statuary throughout. Front rooms have views of the lake but rear ones are quieter. All fresh with flowered prints and fluffy comforters. The restaurant, a pretty garden courtyard in back, also serves coffee and drinks.

Bellevue au Lac (Riva Caccia 10; $119-$132 double with buffet breakfasts) also stands facing the lake front in the upscale Paradiso section of town. This is another older, family-run hotel, with guests who return yearly. The dining room’s pension-plan food is light years beyond the usual hotel fare, with dinner a five-course affair by candlelight.

Hotel Colorado (Via Maraini 19; $76-$112 double B&B;) sits on a hill above town overlooking the lake and the beautiful little Church of San Loreto just a couple of bus stops from the train station. Public areas and bedrooms are contemporary, those with balconies and view of the lake the more expensive. Colorado’s shining light is its Tavernetta grill, a delightful, cellar-like affair with a menu strong on good Italian food.

Regional food and drink: Swiss dishes appear on Lugano’s menus, but the locals prefer the northern Italian food and manner of cooking from neighboring Lombardy. This means that you’ll encounter plenty of pasta, rice, polenta, spezzatini (cubes of stewed or braised meat in a hearty sauce) and such soups as minestrone Ticinese.

You’ll also find dishes from Switzerland’s other neighbors: France, Germany and Austria. Yet the vineyards of Ticino stick pretty much to Merlot wines, mellow and full-bodied reds that go well with south-of-the-border food. And Swiss beer is excellent.

Good dining: Gambrinus (Piazza della Riforma) is one of the town’s most popular restaurants. It’s on the main square, with tables outside, a very informal interior, and the accent is on seafood and Italian dishes.

Gambrinus’ owner-chef puts his emphasis on seasonal specialties (nothing frozen), which leads to superb cream of asparagus soup, springtime mushrooms and other fresh vegetables, lake and sea fish, plus game. The menu is extensive.

La Tinera (just off Piazza della Riforma) is a rustic cellar tavern featuring an old wine vat and a low-beamed ceiling. Hams, salamis, antique guns, plates and assorted other knickknacks hang from the walls and beams. The informal ambience is typically Ticinese, with menu to match. Try the luganiga al cartoccio (local sausage cooked in a paper bag), osso buco (veal shank) with saffron rice or one of the several pastas.

Al Faro (Riva Paradiso 36) has become the town’s best and trendiest seafood restaurant. The shipboard decor is pleasantly without tackiness, and table settings are elegant. Choose live fish, shellfish or lobster from Al Faro’s tanks, or order from the haul of its daily boat. A six-course gastronomique menu goes for $45, or settle for pasta with lobster or risotto di mare, both in the $12 range.

Going first-class: Romantik Hotel Ticino (Piazza Cioccaro 1; $152-$172 double, buffet breakfasts) measures up handsomely to being a member of the esteemed Romantik Hotels group. It was a 16th-Century convent (still protected by the city) and the 23 rooms are built around a courtyard with a fountain and cascading greenery. Some rooms are on the small side, all decorated in a charming, old-fashioned way in pastels and beiges.

The long and narrow dining room with individual booths has a very warm feeling, with tables holding centerpieces of nosegays in silver goblets. The French-Italian, four-course menu is $39, $25 without the first course.

On your own: Many visitors take a steamer ride on the lake to the Ticino village of Morcote, then continue to Ponte Tresa at the Italian border. Morcote, like Lugano, is a town of beautiful arcades lined with tempting shops.

Museum directors around the world have long cast a covetous eye on the magnificent art collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza in his lake - shore Villa Favorita. It boggles the mind to see the lode of paintings--among them El Greco, Goya, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens and Titian. As a private collection, it is second only to that of Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth.

Lugano affords its visitors a trip through all of Switzerland in the form of Miniatur Village with the country’s most picturesque buildings, churches and monuments. It’s on the edge of town and well worth a visit.

After strolling through the arcades of town and stopping in the simple Romanesque-Lombard Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli with its 16th-Century murals, take a funicular to the top of San Salvatore mountain for stunning views of the lake. There’s a restaurant at the summit, plus a terrace with tables for picnickers. Our salami, cheese, sturdy Swiss bread and wine tasted even better there.

For more information: Call the Swiss National Tourist Office at (415) 362-2260, or write to 260 Stockton St., San Francisco 94108, for a brochure on Lugano with city map and hotel listing, a map of all Switzerland and information on the Swiss Pass. Ask for the Lugano package.