Why do we travel? Mountains follow mountains, plains upon plains, and lakes upon lakes.
On my way to Toscany or The Marches in Italy I passed Lago Maggiore a couple of times. I was driving over the Gotthard Pass and deep down the blue water of the 'Greater Lake'. And sun. Always sun.
In the Swiss part of the lake are the Brissago Islands located. The history of these islands tell in a nutshell the history of refugees in Western Europe. Early Christians used the island as refuge. Between 1885-1927 Antoinette de Saint Léger - Bayer lived on the island with her husband. She was born in Russia and possibly the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. She had to sell her island to Max Emden from Germany. Between 1927-1949 the island belonged to him and after his death to his son Hans Erich Emden. Senior was forced by the German nazis to sell his art and property because he was a jew. His son fled to Chile and sold the islands after the Second World War to the Swiss government.
Today Max Emden's villa is a hotel: Villa Emden.
Isn't it lovely?
P.S. A lot of old pictures from 1950 and before: here.
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