Date and Time of Visit: September 15, 2017, approximately 9:00 a.m.
introduction
Nowadays, the « Most Beautiful Villages » association, which started in France, has spread all over the world. In September 2017, I took advantage of the time off from my new job to travel around Europe for three weeks. In September 2017, I took a three-week trip to Europe, taking advantage of the time off from my new job to visit some of the most beautiful villages in Switzerland. We had plenty of time (though it was still hectic in the end), so we were able to conquer all 27 villages in one trip.
Villages with diverse cultures
As you know, there are three main cultural areas in Switzerland. The eastern part is German-speaking, the western part is French-speaking, and the southern part is Italian-speaking. There is also another official language, Romansh. Romansch is the official language of the country, and it is spoken only in the eastern part of the country, near Austria and Italy. Unfortunately, none of the Romansh-speaking areas are registered as one of Switzerland’s most beautiful villages, so I didn’t visit them this time.
さて毎回悩む美しい村の連載方法ですが、今回は例えばワロンの最も美しい村（https://www.yuu-koma.jp/?cat=901）のように実際に訪問した順番ではなく、文化圏ごとにそしてそれぞれの文化圏における村をアルファベット順で紹介していきます。他の地域とはまた異なる、文化圏ごとの「違い」が上手に伝えられればいいなと考えています。
And as always, at the bottom of the post you’ll find village location information and (in my opinion only) a village rating chart, if you’re interested.
Beautiful villages in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland
In the beginning, we will introduce you to the most beautiful villages in the Italian-speaking world. There are five Italian-speaking villages that have been selected.
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The village « Ascona » is a resort in the north of Maggiore.
Now, the first village of this volume is « Ascona ». It is located in the south of Switzerland. From the southern part of Switzerland to the northern part of Italy, there are many beautiful lakes such as Lake Como, Lake Lugano, and Lake Maggiore. It is famous as a popular tourist resort area. Ascona is a beautiful village on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore.
This is a beautiful village, and unusually, it is also introduced in the Globe-Trotter. This is probably because there is a big town called Locarno just east of Ascona. This is also a tourist destination on the shores of Lake Maggiore. I think it’s introduced because it’s near a big town, so it’s easy to access.
By the way, Locarno is the name of a city that you’ve heard of as a world history nerd, of course. (If you want to know more about it, please refer to the internet.
So, our visit to Ascona was first thing in the morning on September 15, 2017, as it was right after our previous night’s stay in Locarno and was about 3 km away. We arrived around 9am. There was a large parking lot in the center of the village with plenty of space above and below ground. I felt that I could park even if I visited in the afternoon or evening because there is a considerable capacity. Of course, first thing in the morning it was empty.
The weather was beautiful and the area was warmer than most of the areas we had visited (we had already been to several beautiful German and Italian speaking villages), so we had a nice morning walk along the lake.
A brief introduction to the history of this village. As a matter of fact, it is said that this area has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times. And in the Middle Ages, it seems to have served as an important fortress. It is said that there were four chateaus at that time, but unfortunately none of them remain now. The church, the symbol of the village, whose steeple can be seen in the photo below, already existed in 1264 and was rebuilt in the 16th century. It was written like that on the page of the official website.
By the way, the official page has been upgraded a lot in the last 6 months and it looks cool.
However, to be honest, I think that there were not many places to feel the so-called medieval atmosphere, although it was undoubtedly a nice sightseeing spot. If you want to taste the old town, I felt that Locarno was better. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of the village is excellent and the public transportation seems to be accessible, so I gave it 4 stars overall in my selfish evaluation as usual.
