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Sunset from Gandria across the Lake of Lugano towards San Salvatore

Tour Highlights

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Sunset view from Gandria across the Lake of Lugano toward the mountain of San Salvatore

Wine cellars reachable only by boat

Why did the locals drink their wine out of a boccalino ("little mouth")? Why are the wine cellars of Gandria located across the lake and how is this connected to the grotti (taverns) there today? There's a lot to tell . . .

Cantine di Gandria, the cellars of Gandria where wine and cheese were stored on the opposite bank of the lake
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Gandria as a movie set: "The Last Chance"

In 1945, a film directed by Leopold Lindtberg was partly shot in Gandria, and won the Palme d'Or, the top prize of the Cannes Film Festival in 1946. During the tour, you see film clips and stand exactly where the scene was shot. 

Movie poster of The Last Chance, which was partly shot in Gandria by Director Leopold Lindtberg in 1945

Key figure of the counter-reformation

The ideas of the Protestant Reformation spread like a wildfire in Europe in the 1500s. In the local church, find out about the man (and later saint) who played a leading role in expelling the Protestants from the Catholic Canton of Ticino. These religious exiles had an outsized impact on Swiss history. 

Painted Statue of Carlo Borromeo who led efforts of Catholic Church to expel Protestants

Find out more about a local industry

The people of Gandria fished, cultivated gardens and kept cows, goats and chickens to feed themselves. And they supplemented their modest income by making a luxury product. Find out more about how they worked and what they did to make the many hours of manual labor more agreeable.

Female employees in a silk factory, who sang while they worked
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Local architects hired by the king of Spain

How did a village of only 200 people, accessible only by a footpath or boat, produce architects and musicians who had so much talent they were hired by European kings? And where can we see traces of these individuals today in Gandria?

Madonna on the house of famous architect from Gandria, Vigilio Rabaglio
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Gandria's coat of arms with a "Tor"

This coat of arms above the church contains an easily recognizable bischop's staff. If you look closely on the right, you will spot a bull with a ring through its nose. Why is this animal pictured and what connection does it have to Gandria?

Coat of arms of Gandria above the church

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