Tirano

Last week we arrived with the Rhaetinian Railway to the Italian town of Tirano. Since the journey took over four hours, I propose that we spend a nice afternoon strolling through the streets of this nice town before we move on to our main destination in Italy. First, let's go to the basilica of Virgin Mary.

On our way, you can spot houses located high up in the mountains. They look totally isolated but in fact they are connected to large vineyards on the sunny slopes.

The basilica in Tirano was built to commemorate the appearance of Virgin Mary to a local farmer at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

The main altar is pretty dark.

But most of the people are centred around a chapel on the left side, where a statue of the Madonna from Tirano is located.

The basilica is beautifully decorated. You can see it on the ceiling ...

... but also on this amazing organ. It actually stands on the marble pillars and is not attached in any way to the walls or the ceiling of the basilica.

The basilica is located next to a roundabout.

Can you spot the red item in the back? And yes! This is the Rhaetinian Railway we just took. It crosses the streets of the town just like that. All cars have a red light then.

Of course when the train crosses the roundabout it does not really make a circle like the cars.

No way to miss the biggest attraction in town.

Alright, let's now move in the direction of the Old Town.

We need to cross the river Adda.

The Town Hall is rather modest.

Most of the streets are narrow, like in the Middle Ages.

The parish church of Saint Martin was built in the tenth century and fully renovated in the seventeenth century.

Tirano used to be surrounded by fortified town walls, built in the second half of the fifteenth century. The walls included fourteen towers with gates to the town. One of them is the Porta Poschiavina, facing in the direction of the town of Poschiavo.

It leads directly to a small bridge over the river.

The bridge is small, just wide enough for a horse.

Tirano, like many Italian towns and villages, has a large pool of emigration. They even have a monument dedicated to the emigrants.

I hope that you have enjoyed this stopover on our way to one of the most interesting cities in Lombardy.