Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lake Endine
The Cherio river runs from the south into lovely, mirror-still Lake Endine, surrounded by
woods and reed banks, and where motorboats are banned - what an enlightened law! A
minor road leads northeast off the main SS42 road to
Monasterolo del Castello
, a quiet mediev-
al village on the south bank of the lake. The Monasterolo castle, turned into a country
mansion in the 16th century, is just outside to the southwest. A lakeside path makes for
pleasant strolls around Monasterolo. Or you can hire canoes (€6 an hour) at the Centro
Nautico in
Spinone al Lago
on the opposite shore.
The 4km road north off the SS42 to
Bianzano
offers panoramic views of the lake. Bian-
zano's
Castello Suardo
can occasionally be visited by guided tour. Better still, the whole
hamlet becomes the scene of
Rievocazione Storica
(
www.cortedeisuardo.com
)
, a medieval feast, for a
long weekend around the end of July, with parades, activities and some 300 locals going
about their business in medieval dress.
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Valle del Fredo & Esmate
Around 2km northeast of Lake Endine is the
Riserva Naturale Regionale Valle del Freddo
( 035
434 98 17;
www.parks.it/riserva.valle.del.freddo
)
, a short walk north of tiny
Lake Gaiano
. The Cold Val-
ley has a unique microclimate, with a particularly cold subsoil (stick your hands into some
of the holes in the ground) that allows 24 species of Alpine flowers (including edelweiss)
and plants to flourish at an altitude of just 360m.
From there, head on foot or by car to the hamlet of
Esmate
, from where you can enjoy
splendid views of the northern end of Lake Iseo. The views are good from the churchyard
but breathtaking if you follow Via Cerrete about 2.5km from the church (it changes names
several times). Where it narrows amid thick woods, several brief trails (20m or so) lead
out to magnificent, wild viewpoints high above the lake.
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Franciacorta
South of Lake Iseo and stretching towards Brescia are the rolling fields, low hills and
flourishing vineyards of the greatly applauded Franciacorta wine region. This is perfect
