The ‘Capri of the North’ is 10 km around and 600 m high. From the pastel-tinted fishermen’s houses to the courtyards and porches of Masse, the landscape is a delight. A thousand years back they made fishing nets here. They still do, along with traditional boat-building − with wood, not plastics. The shortest crossing is from Sulzano to Peschiera Maraglio (10 minutes). Visitors’ cars are not allowed: take the minibus service to Siviano and Cure. A walk of 20 minutes through chestnut forests leads to the Madonna della Ceriola sanctuary, built on the foundations of a pagan temple. Siviano was the ancestral home of a Catholic priest called Fenni who taught in England under the protection of Queen Elizabeth l. He eventually died for his religion on Tower Hill, London.

At Sensole is a stone bench on which, it is said, Chopin composed a sonata. San Paolo is a tiny island south of Monteisola, with just room for one villa. It is a holiday home of the Beretta family of gunmakers. Monteisola is an oasis of serenity. Even the green lake algae, according to Italian writer Petrocchi, ‘seem to dance with the sensual and sinuous movements of Scheherazade.’