Sunday, 10/1/2017 -- Final day in Lenno.
We decided to ferry up to Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo and walk our way home. Yet another overcast day.
Villa Carlotta is situated right on the lakefront. It probably had better views in its days of glory but has some views obscured now because of the high hedges. It has quite a large garden area and is four stories high. At one point is was given to the daughter (Carlotta) of the owner as a wedding gift but she died in childbirth in her early 20's never having lived there.
From there we walked along the Greenway Path making our way back to Lenno. Parts of the pathway run right along the busy highway. As we approached a rather narrow area we met a local priest, Father Pierre, who said this area was a "killing field" due to the traffic. He offered to show us the true Tremezzo and off we went up into the back roads and alleys of Tremezzo and the nearby villages. Eric especially liked the local cows in a field next to the roadway.
Father Pierre told us about how Mussolini was captured and killed there along with his mistress by the local partisans and showed us where Mussolini's driver was buried. We also saw Chopin's villa which now owned by the family Puccini. We spent almost 2 hours with him, after which of course he asked for a small donation for his church. 7 euros later we decided it was a small price to pay for his tour. He also gave us this small saying about travel:
"Travel is the school of man.
Threshold of high rank.
Treasury of wealth.
Master of all skills".
Poet Anwari
Suzanne thinks this means that through travel you gain the wealth of knowledge and exposure, not monetary wealth.
Back to Lenno and packing to leave the next day. That evening we strolled up to dinner and came across a village event that included roasting chestnuts on the waterfront.
We had dinner at a small local osteria that Suzanne found up in the hills and down a dark roadway. Full of locals. Again we were the only non-Italians present. Highlight of the evening was the melt in your mouth Tiramisu. On the way back down to the hotel we saw the cemetery headstones lit with candles or small LEDs.
