Cruising around and through Europe Part 50: Lake Como part 2
Apr 22, 2024 15:18:33 #
After lunch we did the short walk to the ferry terminal to go back to our hotel. We took the ferry to the stop very close to our hotel. The ferries are a great way to get around Lake Como. It was great to be at the beautiful Lago di Como. Our hotel was in Moltrasio, which is about 8km by car from Como. The ferry terminal in Moltrasio was only about 100 meters from our hotel; very convenient. Moltrasio is a small village of only 1,710 people as of 2010.
We walked through the Piazza Alessandro Volta, across the street from the ferry terminal (first photo). Born in Como, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian physicist credited with the invention of the first electrical battery, the Voltaic pile, which he invented in 1799. With this invention, Volta proved that electricity could be generated chemically and debased the prevalent theory that electricity was generated solely by living beings. Volta's invention sparked a great amount of scientific excitement and led others to conduct similar experiments which eventually led to the development of the field of electrochemistry. The term volt is from Alessandro Volta.
“The Life Electric” monument (photo 3), in honor of Alessandro Volta, is erected at the center of Lake Como's first basin, standing at the final rounded portion of the breakwater facing Cavour Square. Starchitect Daniel Libeskind is the man behind the work: clean-cut, linear, and deeply context-driven. Standing at roughly 16.50 m tall, it resembles two sine waves facing each other while playing on reciprocating curves and movement. The work itself intertwines energetic and scientific elements with natural ones. It marks the area’s third pole as it is situated between the Brunate Lighthouse and the public gardens Temple, two other works that are, not coincidentally, dedicated to Volta.
“Life Electric is inspired by the electrical tension that occurs between the two poles of a battery, Volta’s great gift to humanity. The very shape of this work has arisen from my in-depth research on the representation of architectural energy. The piece combines the natural elements of light, wind and water. An installation, a physical and ideal gateway open to the twenty-first century."
The last photo is of a sculpture honoring Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) who was an Italian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania." Many years later, in 1898, Giuseppe Verdi "praised the broad curves of Bellini's melody: 'there are extremely long melodies as no-one else had ever made before’.”
Bellini spent 1827 to 1833 in or near Milan (1829 -1833 in Moltrasio), never holding any official position within an opera company and living solely from the income produced from his compositions, for which he was able to ask higher than usual fees. The four years in Northern Italy between 1827 and 1831 produced four great masterpieces, Il pirata, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, La sonnambula, and Norma, along with a revival and a setback. Bellini had stayed at Villa Salterio, also known as Villa Hocevar in Moltrasio. He wrote the popular aria 'Casta Diva' from the opera Norma in 1831. The Villa Salterio is now a cafe named Cafe Bellini in honor of his importance and residence in Moltrasio, hence the monument, which is between the café and the Hotel Grand Imperiale (where we stayed).
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-805347-1.html and it includes a map of Lake Como, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: Day 2 at Lake Como
We walked through the Piazza Alessandro Volta, across the street from the ferry terminal (first photo). Born in Como, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian physicist credited with the invention of the first electrical battery, the Voltaic pile, which he invented in 1799. With this invention, Volta proved that electricity could be generated chemically and debased the prevalent theory that electricity was generated solely by living beings. Volta's invention sparked a great amount of scientific excitement and led others to conduct similar experiments which eventually led to the development of the field of electrochemistry. The term volt is from Alessandro Volta.
“The Life Electric” monument (photo 3), in honor of Alessandro Volta, is erected at the center of Lake Como's first basin, standing at the final rounded portion of the breakwater facing Cavour Square. Starchitect Daniel Libeskind is the man behind the work: clean-cut, linear, and deeply context-driven. Standing at roughly 16.50 m tall, it resembles two sine waves facing each other while playing on reciprocating curves and movement. The work itself intertwines energetic and scientific elements with natural ones. It marks the area’s third pole as it is situated between the Brunate Lighthouse and the public gardens Temple, two other works that are, not coincidentally, dedicated to Volta.
“Life Electric is inspired by the electrical tension that occurs between the two poles of a battery, Volta’s great gift to humanity. The very shape of this work has arisen from my in-depth research on the representation of architectural energy. The piece combines the natural elements of light, wind and water. An installation, a physical and ideal gateway open to the twenty-first century."
The last photo is of a sculpture honoring Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) who was an Italian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania." Many years later, in 1898, Giuseppe Verdi "praised the broad curves of Bellini's melody: 'there are extremely long melodies as no-one else had ever made before’.”
Bellini spent 1827 to 1833 in or near Milan (1829 -1833 in Moltrasio), never holding any official position within an opera company and living solely from the income produced from his compositions, for which he was able to ask higher than usual fees. The four years in Northern Italy between 1827 and 1831 produced four great masterpieces, Il pirata, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, La sonnambula, and Norma, along with a revival and a setback. Bellini had stayed at Villa Salterio, also known as Villa Hocevar in Moltrasio. He wrote the popular aria 'Casta Diva' from the opera Norma in 1831. The Villa Salterio is now a cafe named Cafe Bellini in honor of his importance and residence in Moltrasio, hence the monument, which is between the café and the Hotel Grand Imperiale (where we stayed).
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-805347-1.html and it includes a map of Lake Como, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: Day 2 at Lake Como
Monument to Alessandro Volta
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Taken from the ferry terminal
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Life Electric, taken from the ferry to our hotel
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Lake Como from the ferry
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Our hotel from the ferry as we approach the nearby ferry stop
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A glass of wine to go with our dinner at a restaurant a short walk from our hotel. There is a restaurant of the same name a mile from our house.
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Dessert!
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Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini
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Apr 22, 2024 15:57:34 #
Apr 22, 2024 15:58:55 #
Fantastic set Dennis which brings back great memories of our time at Lake Como. Here's a shot from the dock at Moltrasio. We just got off the ferry "A. Volta" from Bellagio.
Apr 22, 2024 16:02:18 #
Apr 22, 2024 17:54:47 #
Apr 22, 2024 19:00:47 #
Apr 22, 2024 19:03:37 #
srfmhg wrote:
Fantastic set Dennis which brings back great memories of our time at Lake Como. Here's a shot from the dock at Moltrasio. We just got off the ferry "A. Volta" from Bellagio.
Thanks a bunch Mark! Great name for a Lake Como ferry; thanks for including the photo. We went to the other 4 major lakes in Northern Italy last year, so it's time to go back to Lake Como.
Apr 22, 2024 19:04:12 #
Apr 22, 2024 19:05:02 #
UTMike wrote:
A beautiful variety well taken, Dennis!
Thank you Mike, many more to come from this beautiful place.
Apr 22, 2024 19:15:14 #
Apr 22, 2024 20:02:57 #
Apr 23, 2024 06:13:58 #
Apr 23, 2024 06:47:13 #
Apr 23, 2024 06:55:42 #
Apr 23, 2024 07:48:42 #
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