I want to start this post by reassuring you that although I am in Italy, where of course they all speak Italian, it is Christmas. I can therefore confirm that George Michael is - even here - still worrying about what he did last year, Aled Jones is walking in the air and Mariah Carey is telling us what she wants for Christmas - over and over and over again.
Today it's Como, the nearest main lakeside town to Milan, another town of quaint narrow streets filled with twinkling lights.
And of course no town in this part of the world is going to be without a funicular, so once again let's head up.
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| This one has a glass wall at the top so you can see the workings |
The funicular links Como with the hill top settlement of Brunate and from the top station it is a 30 minute walk along well signposted paths to what I had come to see - a lighthouse. I would point out at this point that the walk is one of those where it takes 30 minutes to go up but only 15 to come back, it is in places quite steep.
The purpose of this lighthouse is not to guide shipping on Lake Como below but to act as a beacon. I was opened in 1927 to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of local boy made good Alessandro Volta, who invented the battery and of course his name was used for the electrical term Volt. It sends out beams of red, white and green light (the Italian flag) and can be seen for around 40km.
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| This is looking up - I would never take a pic like this looking down! |
One of the great unanswered questions of my life is why one of my interests involves, usually tall buildings when I am really not good at heights. I am supremely comfortable at South Foreland but put me in a similar building elsewhere and my legs turn to jelly. Anyway as you know I do where possible force myself and I have some pictures taken from the top but it really was a case of climb, take pics, come straight down. As much as I would have like to stopped to admire the view properly, my body was having none of it.
As for todays Christmas tree, Como has gone for an artificial yellow and white light number with a side projection of lights on the cathedral wall.
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