With a brooding melancholy that only comes from when your daughter has moved 12,500kms away, I spent my first day on my own since her departure from a short visit. Thinking the best way to lose yourself is in either nature or art , I set off to another one of Lecco's museums, the Palazzo delle Paure (which translates as Palace of Fears). Palace of Fears seems a strange name for what is their contemporary art space, but there is reason. Built in 1905, the building housed the offices of the Land Registry, taxes and duties where the Lecco went to pay taxes until 196. The thought of having to pay tax has a history of fear it seems. It is now home to temporary exhibitions and the Section of Contemporary Art and Section of graphics and photography of the Municipal Gallery. I appreciated this museum much more the crumbly Manzoni building and at least there reasonable contemporary art to enjoy and a quality if not tiny photography exhibition. Interestingly, upstairs is a display space of a difference. The Lecco Mountaineering Observatory is a modern and interactive museum with multimedia technology which presents the history of mountaineering from its beginnings to the present day. I guess it makes sense with all the mountains around Lecco that a museum space be devoted to it.
Back at home, I enjoyed what was to become mostly daily interactions with my Italian hosts. Sometimes a WhatsApp message invites me to try something Marcella has cooked or Salvatore has baked. The answer is always a resounding 'si!'. I also enjoy the tours of their vegie garden; yes, it's true that vegetable gardens are an intrinsic part of Italian culture and the whole neighbourhood seems to be devoted to growing vegetables and fruits in backyards, front yards, pots or anywhere. I had never seen a kiwifruit vine but there is one in the yard which last year gleaned 60kgs of fruit! Consequently the cupboards downstairs are filled with kiwifruit jam! This is so much richer than a hotel stay!
I stayed in Lecco, North Italy as part of a home exchange in June 2018.
Originally published in http://www.mytripjournal.com/helenineurope June 2018