Tour Highlights
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 . . .
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
