Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE LAKE OF COMO The approach to the lake from Porlezza—Menaggio—Leone Leoni—Nobiallo—La Madonna della Pace—Torpedo-boats and smuggling—" Protection " and some of its consequences —The Sasso Rancio—Rezzonico and Pope Clement XIII.— Cremia and its picture. OF the various approaches to the most fascinating of all the Italian lakes, the Lago Lariano, or Lake of Como, the road leading from Porlezza to Menaggio is, next to the Brianza route, by far the most striking. It is as well to avoid the light railway which conveys tourists from Lugano and its lake, I and to take a carriage previously ordered from I Menaggio to meet the steamer at Porlezza. In this manner the loveliness of the scene which gradually unfolds itself as the carriage passes through a plateau rich in vineyards, meadows, and wooded glades can be enjoyed without the guttural and nasal exclamations of admiration from Germans and Americans, or vapid expressions of enthusiasm from British fellow- travellers. The carriage, moreover, has another advantage over the noisy little train. It will stop at any moment, when its occupants realise that time is needed in order properly to grasp the full beauty of the views which disclose themselves in rapid succession as the road begins to descend the gorge, and the first glimpses of the Larian waters are obtained. Shortly after leaving Porlezza, a small sheet of water, the Lago di Piano, is passed, gay in spring and early summer with yellow iris and tall, feathery reeds waving around the margin, in winter the haunt of various species of wild-fowl. Presently the high mountains above the farther shore of the Lake of Como become visible—Monte Codeno, or, as it is locally called, La Grigna, rising to a height of over seven thousand feet of rock ; Monte Legnone, wit...