"The ancient settlement of Chiavenna, in Lombardy, near Italy's border with Switzerland, was once well known among travellers. Lovely Chiavenna mountain peaks, huge boulders, with rippling miniature torrents and lovely young flowers and grassy heights with rich Spanish chestnuts, wrote George Eliot in 1860. Eliot wasn't the only writer to rhapsodise about this charming town. Edith Wharton described it as fantastically picturesque an exuberance of rococo."
"Surrounded by thick chestnut woods and bisected by the crystal-clear River Mera, Valchiavenna (the town's valley) holds numerous surprises too, from the area's crotti (natural caves), to a B&B in the ornate villa once inhabited by the great 18th-century painter Angelica Kauffman. It also has dozens of magnificent hiking and cycling trails through a spectacular landscape of waterfalls, glacially sculpted rocks, mossy woodlands, ancient mule tracks and abandoned villages."
Chiavenna sits in Lombardy near the Swiss border at the foot of the snow-flecked Alps and marks one entrance to Italy from northern Europe via historic transalpine routes such as the Splugen Pass. The town is surrounded by thick chestnut woods and bisected by the crystal-clear River Mera. Valchiavenna contains natural crotti, frescoed cobbled alleys, ornate fountains and a villa once inhabited by 18th-century painter Angelica Kauffman now operating as a B&B. Dozens of hiking and cycling trails traverse waterfalls, glacially sculpted rocks, mossy woodlands, ancient mule tracks and abandoned villages. Today Chiavenna receives few tourists compared with Como, offering a tranquil alpine experience.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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