Lago Maggiore, Italy: Part III
Our next stop was Cannobio, Italy. Cannobio is known for many things. For me, there were two things I came to see and experience for myself: The Cannobio Market and Santuario della SS Pietà.
The Cannobio Market
I have been to many kinds of markets around Europe: Christmas Markets, Harvest Markets, Farmers’ Markets, etc., especially in the regions of France and Switzerland. Long time ago, I experienced being in an Italian Market back in 1996, December of 1996 to be exact. It was raining, it was cold, it was bahhh, and I must say I truly didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed this one. The season had something to do with it. It’s springtime around Italy these days, so not as cold, totally sunny and being surrounded by picturesque views of the mountains nestled around Lago Maggiore…a total bonus!
Cannobio Market happens every Sunday of the week. It starts around 8 ó clock in the morning until around 2 to 3 ó clock in the afternoon. To you, it means that if you want to get parking, then try to come no later than 10-ish, otherwise, you will be driving around this little town trying to hit the jackpot at a parking space that you will not find. Your best bet at parking in Cannobio will be at the “Futbol field” of Cannobio. They use it for parking, just for this market on Sundays. Obviously, this is a very famous market. I tell you. Farmers, merchants, and other kinds of vendors set up their tents to display all the goodies they have to offer you, and believe me, you will not leave this place empty handed.
Just take a look at some of the wonderful things they had to offer…
Watch out, though! You can easily blow off your budget if you don’t hit the breaks in time to save your wallet. It’s so tempting to buy everything you see! So, come prepare to spend a certain amount of money and have in mind as to what you’re looking to spend it on. My goal was to spend my cash on cheeses, “crudos”, olives, and local pastries, (hah, whatever!). And that’s exactly what I spent it all on, (I’m so full of it). I do recall getting some other stuff you know like some woodsy cutting board, what else, oh yeah, some honey, great honey!!! Yep…, oh hey look…the church bells!!!
Afterwards, I headed out straight to the Santuario della SS Pietà to pay my respects of course (and see the famous painting that bled).
Santuario della SS Pietà: “Miracolo della Santa Crosta”
It is believed, that this painting all of the sudden bled! A rib came out of of Jesus Christ’s human flesh! This is known as the “sacred rib”, or so they say. It all happened around January-February of 1522. But that’s not all. The interesting part of this whole event was not this, but what happened afterwards!!! You see, Cannobio, along with its neighboring villages, were attacked by a plague. This plague swept the towns around the lakeside of Lago Maggiore, leaving devastation behind; all the towns suffered the wrath of this plague that killed everything in its way….all the villages, all but one…you guest it! CANNOBIO. Cannobio was spared from this terrible plague in its entirety.
Hmm…maybe the painting had something to do with it? Maybe it didn’t! Either way, I saw, I conquered, I’m satisfied.
By now, it was time for lunch! Lunch!!! We bought some provisions from the market, took them to the lakeside and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in Cannobio.
Here are some great pictures depicting that afternoon…
Instead of going out for dinner like we normally did every night during our stay in Ghiffa, we decided to have our own Dinner-Picnic at the hotel. We took it easy that evening while eating all this assortment of pure delicacy accompanied by a bottle of wine, from the region of Piemonte of course. It was the perfect way to end the evening after all of that walking and shopping thru the narrow streets of Cannobio. Can’t wait to do it again.
To learn more about Cannobio and what it has to offer, visit their official website: www.cannobio.net. You can also find information at the following site: www.illagomaggiore.com.
