Journey to Ceresio, in the Valsolda Literary Park, between Fogazzaro’s house in Oria, described in “Piccolo mondo antico”, and the church of Santa Maria Annunciata (3 hours). For the whole day, the itinerary is enriched with a visit to the village of S. Mamete, the Sanctuary of Caravina and the church of S. Martino in the village of Castello. In Valsolda, nature and faith, mysticism and contemplation blend with the art that triumphs on the vaults and walls of the valley’s churches. For centuries, from the Middle Ages to the end of the eighteenth century, stonecutters and sculptors, painters and architects, master builders and entrepreneurs who built churches and royal palaces in Europe left from these villages.
From the parking lot above the cemetery of Oria, you go down the private road Antonio Fogazzaro to the house where he spent his holidays and where you seem to see the characters of Piccolo mondo antico come to life again: the terrace of the opera, the Salone della Siberia, the dock, the tomato road, the hanging garden with the olea fragrans, Franco’s vegetable garden with the maritime pine, which still extends towards the lake. From the churchyard of the church of Santa Maria Annunciata in Albogasio, you can still see the homes of the characters in the novel. Inside, however, you will be enraptured by the beauty of the baroque frescoes by G. B. Pozzo.
The itinerary can be completed in the afternoon with a visit to the small village of S. Mamete, on the shore of Lake Lugano, then on to Cressogno, to see the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Caravina, which many artists from Valsoldi competed to embellish throughout the seventeenth century. The last stop is the parish church of S. Martino di Castello, where, after having achieved an important international career, on his return from Moravia, in the years 1696-97 the painter Paolo Pagani, a native of Castello Valsolda, donated the frescoes of the vault, creating what is considered his most important work.
