Lake Ceresio

The Treaty of Varese, signed on August 2, 1752, ended more than two centuries of border disputes between the Duchy of Milan — then under Habsburg domination — and Swiss cantons Confederates. The agreement established the border along the median axis of the lake, a then-innovative cartographic principle that allowed for the precise definition of customs, fishing, and navigation jurisdictions, which until then had been the subject of recurring skirmishes. Curiously, the Italian-Swiss border that today runs through Lake Ceresio still follows the criteria established in Varese by those 18th-century plenipotentiaries: a rare diplomatic stability, considering that the treaty survived intact Napoleonic rule, the unification of Italy, and both world wars.

Regular navigation on Lake Ceresio has been documented since 16th century, when sailing and rowing boats connected the villages on the Italian and Swiss shores, transporting goods, pilgrims and smugglers. The first steamboat, the Ceresio, entered into service in 1848, and since then the line navigation has never stopped: today the Lugano Lake Navigation Company (SNL) operates seven boats that connect Porlezza, Osteno, Lugano, Gandria and the smaller villages, keeping alive a tradition of mobility that predates the advent of the road by three centuries. In the summer, historic boats such as the Italy (1908) they return to service for panoramic cruises, offering a perspective on the lake unchanged since the time of Stendhal and Manzoni.

La San Mamete Point, a rocky promontory that juts out into the heart of the northern basin, is one of the most famous panoramic points of Lake Ceresio: from here the gaze simultaneously embraces the Swiss shore of Gandria A medieval village clinging to the north face of Monte Brè and accessible only by lake or along the olive grove trail, it is surrounded by the mountain range that encloses the Valsolda valley. The area's microclimate, tempered by the lake's deep waters, supports Mediterranean vegetation unique to this latitude: centuries-old olive trees, holm oaks, and cypresses grow wild alongside cultivated olive trees, the fruit of a millennia-old olive-growing tradition that makes Lake Ceresio one of the northernmost olive-growing basins in Europe.

The waters of Lake Ceresio, up to 288 metres deep and protected by rigorous legislation CIPAIS (International Commission for the Protection of Italian-Swiss Waters) since the 70s, have hosted a varied sporting practice: the sail, with the Ceresio Sailing Club active since 1965 in Porlezza, the boating competitive and amateur, the kitesurf on days with north winds, and numerous certified bathing beaches. The wind regime of the lake - in particular the Tivàn, morning thermal breeze, and the'Winter, an evening southerly wind—has shaped both navigation and sailing for centuries, transforming narrow lakes like Porlezza into natural training grounds. Sport fishing for whitefish, perch, and pike is regulated and a well-established practice in all the riverside villages.