A modest town in the shadow of the Alps: Tirano attracts visitors, one must admit, mainly because there the Bernina Express terminates.
An afternoon spent exploring the surrounds did not disappoint, however. One main restaurant manfully acts as the tourism center: steps from the train station, it promises hot meals prepared fast all day (“no break in the afternoon!” – a marketing strategy revealing of the local customs), plus luggage storage and, naturally, wi-fi.
I dropped off my backpack and turned my steps towards the town’s true attraction: la Basilica Madonna di Tirano, a church founded more than half a millennium ago.
The contrast with England’s neogothic staggered me most. Instead of elongated lines directed upwards, the bare lower walls burst into an elaborate finery – all the more impressive as it hung suspended without visual supports.
Church architecture properly guides the eye heavenward, but never had I seen it accomplished like this: as if the heavens had come down instead to meet us.
Fantastic figures curved through all the ornamentation:
Besides churches, who could visit Italy without sampling the pasta? Tirano boasts pizzocheri for its local specialty, made of buckwheat noodles thick with cheese.
Before returning to the train station for my straight shot to Milan, I squeezed in one more adventure: a climb to the dizzying heights overlooking Tirano.
(to be continued)
