Eugi Gufo's siteEugi Gufo

For several months I had lived under the impression that Sondrio was the only important Lombard city I had not yet visited. So I would have gone there earlier as well, but the two-hour one-way train journey was a bit intimidating: would I still have enough time left to see it properly?

I was worrying for nothing. From two photos — the previous one and the one that follows — you can judge the size of the city: roughly three quarters of it are visible.

Someone who has never been there might logically assume that the historic centre (which is usually the most interesting and attractive part of a city) must therefore be very small. Well, in my opinion Sondrio is an exception to the rule: the most beautiful and interesting things I found were outside the centre.

In the centre, in fact, I found too much modern development (20th century), whereas what one expects from a mountain town begins further out, towards the outskirts («northern outskirts», adds my sense of orientation, famous for always taking me in exactly the opposite direction from where I intend to go).

If we move even further away from the centre, we find something truly beautiful: extremely narrow stepped streets. Some of them look like private passages leading to villas…

…others are barely noticeable at first glance:

And in most cases they are so narrow that movement in two opposite directions is impossible. Essentially, these are mountain paths transplanted into the city. Definitely worth seeing.

The small 17th-century castle of Sondrio, located on a completely unremarkable hill, has nothing interesting either inside or outside.

I should also mention that it was about 90% closed. I only managed to see two courtyards and a very small museum. The only exhibited objects worth mentioning are two 18th-century cemetery crosses (if I were a Christian, I would have liked one like that on my own grave):

At this point, let us return to exploring the city. On the very day of my visit, a two-day exhibition of local artists had just begun. As is customary for events of this kind, I saw a few interesting works, many banal ones, and a handful that were truly vulgar.

Luckily, the local population does not live on art alone. Art… In Sondrio there are still people who rent films instead of watching them online! A large vending machine has been installed especially for these strange individuals. Yes, this is an extremely important ethnographic discovery.

The most common benches in Sondrio, concentrated — according to my observations — in just a few areas, are also the most uncomfortable ones: too sensitive to outdoor temperature and made of a grid that is painful to sit on.

The only Sondrio fountain that remained in my memory imitates one I had spotted in Lecco, but it is executed in a much less elegant way.

The most widespread bin model is compact, elegant and equipped with an ashtray. Approved.

A local peculiarity: next to many buildings there are cages installed for waste storage. This is an example worth studying, as it is decidedly more pleasant than bags left in the middle of the street or in condominium courtyards (not to mention the change in behaviour of stray animals).

Racks for private bicycles are extremely numerous and all of the same type. Their only flaw is poor security: I wonder how many lonely wheels are pulled out of them in a single month.

There is also a local bike-sharing system, similar to those in many other Lombard cities (for example Brescia and Pavia), but with very few stations.

The pedestrian green light at Sondrio’s traffic lights is wonderful. Besides the pleasantly unusual shape of the little man, it is excellent training for rapid focusing: I personally fought against this traffic light for at least 15 minutes.

Sondrio railway station deserves special attention. First of all because its waiting room is the most beautiful I have ever seen in Italy.

Secondly, because it is equipped with a modern underpass normally found only in large cities (in Lombardy, something similar exists only in Milan).

In the underpass itself there is a large and interesting display illustrating all the phases of the works (carried out in 2007): the excavations, the «lifting» of the building, the discovery of a Second World War bomb, etc.

This is the Sondrio I found. Those who claim that only churches and monuments should be photographed (as if cities were museums) are welcome to browse Google Images and count the tourist photos published there. I, on the other hand, will show you only the monument dedicated to Sondrio’s mechanical engineers.

P.S.: I still have not worked out whether Sondrio really is an important city.