The Sweetness of Doing Nothing
— In Dolce Far Niente
Varenna, Lago di Como, Italia — This is it. I am sitting on the terrazzo, watching the ferry boats slide by one at a time across the lake -- Lago di Como, a bright blue jewel in Italy’s northern lake region. The sun is trying to get behind the mountain across the lake from me, but finding it slow going.  No hurry. There is wine in the bottle. Dinner is in an hour or so — il dolce far niente, “the sweetness of doing nothing,” is in full flower.  THIS is the place I was intended to sit at this stage in my life.
    Every quarter hour or so a large goose on the fishing pier announces the joy of this place in a long, deep honk — no need to disturb the sound of lapping water more often than that. By now, the ferry that launched ten minutes ago from just to the right of my balcony is reaching the point across the lake where a decision must be made either to put to the right into Menagio, Varenna’s more businesslike twin, or to turn left and wander down the left leg of the lake toward Bellagio: Varenna’s more fashionable cousin. This one, the Ghisallo, simply makes a wide mid-lake U-turn and returns straight for my balcony before angling to the dock to my right.

                                  

                                     The ferry Ghisallo crossing Lago di Como

Seven bells. [Click to listen to San Giorgio’s bells] The announcement comes from the bell tower of the church of San Giorgio, built in 1313 with four bells just loud enough to inform this small village that it is time to prepare supper. Seven bells will ring again in twelve hours to announce the morning.  
    Across the lake, one of the mountains seems to be transparent.  OK, I know it can’t be, but it IS, take a look! The magic of this place is confirmed.

 
         The "Transparent Mountain"                            Varenna's red tile rooftops

But there’s more ...
 
    When I turn and walk away from this view -- back through my bright sunlit room, down spiral stairs, through the colorful lobby, and out into the narrow alleyways that pass for streets here -- I find a town interested mostly in itself. While the newspapers are full of politics, national and international, the Italians here have a much more local focus. The headlines describe the impassioned chaos that has caused Italy to elect and dissolve more than fifty administrations since WWII, but the local chatter is about the weather and the tourists, the gelato and the children, and who has a new fishing boat. Looking across the red tile rooftops of this town it is easy to see why the 800 people who live here would have a hard time getting serious about the world outside of their colorful self-contained village and its very own slow-paced business.

        
         The view from inside room #2                       Our "street" — XX Settembre

        The “business” of the day begins, well  . . .  late. If a shop posts hours suggesting that it opens at 9:00 am, you can be fairly sure that it will be ready for you by 9:30.  While businesses in America usually post hours like 9:00 – 6:00, or so; here the sign will read something like:
                                                          9:00 — 12:00
                                                        13:30 — 18:00
The midday break is never less than ninety minutes and preparations for midday closing, bringing in the outdoor displays and shuttering the windows, begin around 11:45, shortly after the single gong from San Giorgio’s at 11:30. Sometimes the afternoon doesn’t begin in earnest until 15:00.
    So, what do the residents of Varenna do for ninety minutes in the middle of the day? The grocery store is closed. The tabacchi shop, where stamps, newspapers, train tickets, and . . . well  . . .  tabacchi are sold, is closed -- maybe, depending. Il pharmacie, il ufficio postale are closed. Il banco, il fiorista, La Villa Monastero -- with its beautiful walkways lined with labeled trees and flowers of every color combination -- are all closed. There are no museums to inspect. Nobody important, other than George Clooney and his friends, ever comes here. Only the pasticceria is open, selling pastries, sandwiches -- pannini con formaggio et carne -- birra, vino, aqua minerale frizzante, and cioccolati.

                     
                                                    Il pasticceria

    So, the logic is clear.  At midday, we go to the pasticceria  . . .  or not. From there, or most everywhere else in Varenna, there is a lake to stare at; mountain ranges to consider; geese, ducks, and San Giorgio’s bells to listen to; slow boats to watch; thoughts to think; and dreams to dream: Il dolce far niente.

                                                             Il dolce far niente

 

    It could be a full-time job if it paid better; but it is not without its compensations. The mind is enriched with simplicity. The eyes are filled with colors, the ears with natural melodies, and the heart with a particular local sweetness. One could do a lot worse than to be a “doer of nothing” in Varenna. 

    
                                             Varenna Sur Lago di Como
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Getting There:
•  A thirty-minute bus ride from Malpensa airport in Milan to Milano Centrale train station
•  A breathtaking 55-minute train ride from Milano Centrale to tiny Varenna-Esino station (watch for the station, the train stops for ONE minute)
•  A 5-10-minute walk to any hotel in town

Staying There (We have stayed here twice, and our third time we wil stay a this same place):
•  Albergo Milano is a dream, with some of the best views and food in town:
Bettina & Egidio Mallone
Via XX Settembre 35
E-mail: hotelmilano@varenna.net
www.varenna.net
Call from the US: 011-39-0341-830-298
FAX: from the US: 011-39-0341-830-061