” Addio Lugano bella”
Pietro Gori composed ” Addio Lugano bella”, the most famous Italian anarchist song when he was forced to leave the Ticino city where he had taken refuge.
In the hisotory, Gori is an anarchist lawyer. After defending the murderer of French President Sandi Carnot on trial, he was forced to flee Italy because of unjustly suspected of having inspired the criminal act. In 1895, Gori and 17 other anarchists were arrested by the Ticino authorities and expelled from Switzerland two weeks later.
The song sings in Italian:
“Elvezia il tuo governo schiavo d’altrui si rende
“Elvezia, your government becomes a slave to others
d’un popolo gagliardo le tradizioni offende
offend traditions of a strong people
e insulta la leggenda del tuo Guglielmo Tell.”
and insult the legend of your William Tell. “
William Tell
William Tell is the main Swiss hero, whose legend is worth remembering. One day in 1307, the hunter originally from the canton of Uri went to the capital Altdorf. He did not bow in front of the imperial hat raised by the bailiff Albrecht Gessler. Serious affront, punished by the bailiff with the proof of the apple.
William Tell managed to hit the apple placed on the head of his son Gualterino with his crossbow. But the bailiff Gessler understood William’s will to kill him with a second arrow in case the first one hit his son. Once arrested, the hero managed to escape and find his revenge.
The lake Lugano and the park Ciani
Today, the lakefront connects Piazza della Riforma to Park Ciani passing through Rivetta Tell, where there is a statue of the hero. A few steps further on, the wonderful park contains the congress palace, flower beds, and imposing trees, some with a strange shape because of subtropical origin. The paths wind through the splendid setting of the lake. The nature view is wonderful in this area.
The park was built around 1840 as the villa of the Ciani brothers, members of a Ticino family living in Milan. In 1912 the area was revealed by the Municipality of Lugano, the villa was transformed into a museum and the garden into a public park. On the other side, the park borders the mouth of the Cassarate river of modest flow. you can also see the beautiful beach where the swans rest.
Written by Enrico, Translated by Hua and Photo from Hua
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