Ascona

Canton: Ticino (TI)

Altitude: 196 m/643ft

Population: 5,000

Thanks to its beautiful situation in a mist-free bay on Lake Maggiore, sheltered from the north winds, and to its sub-tropical vegetation, Ascona has developed from a little fishing village into one of Switzerland's most popular holiday resorts, excellently equipped for visitors. It has long hours of sunshine and a mild winter. The main areas of activity from spring into autumn are the picturesque town, a pedestrian precinct with numerous little shops, art galleries and antique dealers, and the piazza on the lake. A prehistoric cemetery excavated in 1952 provided evidence of a Bronze Age settlement here (ca. 800 B.C.). The town was "discovered" by a group of vegetarians and nature-worshippers who settled on Monte Verità before and during the First World War. The artists' colony of Ascona attracted such leading figures as Lenin, Leoncavallo, Isadora Duncan, J. C. Jung and Rudolf Steiner, and later residents included the writers Remarque and Herman Hesse and the painters Paul Klee, M. von Werefkin and Jawlensky. In the 1930s many refugees found a home on Lake Maggiore. The extensive modern development has unfortunately swallowed up the old village.