Arcumeggia e i paesi dipinti - Varese Land of Tourism

2.
1. Mario Bogani, “ Cestai” / “Basket-weavers”
2. Luigi Bennati, “Scalpellino” / “Stonecutter”
to. Da questo momento il paese fu soggetto, come tutti i
paesi montani, ad un progressivo spopolamento, fino
a quando il pittore Mario Alioli pensò di rivitalizzare
il luogo recuperando la sua vocazione di meta
turistica attraverso la trasformazione di Boarezzo
in "villaggio dipinto" dedicato a Giuseppe Grandi
(Ganna 1843-1894) e ad Odoardo Tabacchi (Ganna
1836-Milano 1905), due tra le figure più prestigiose
dell'intero panorama scultoreo italiano
dell'800, nati in Valganna. L'ambizioso progetto vide
nel suo nascere 16 artisti invitati a creare pannelli
dipinti e affrescati che furono collocati sui muri
delle case tramandando, in una sorta di "racconto
a percorso", le tradizioni e gli antichi mestieri
della vita rurale del luogo. Una "poesia" in dialetto
bosino, composta da Paolo Rattazzi, accoglie il
visitatore insieme ad una veduta pittorica rappresentante
uno scorcio del paese e in primo piano una
gerla rovesciata e un rastrello, atti a simboleg-
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1.
and silver mining. Between 1800 and 1900, Boarezzo
became a tourist attraction and a holiday place for the
rich families of Como, Milan and Varese. Here they
could enjoy a splendid view over the Lombard Alps and
stay at Piambello Hotel, which could accommodate
thousands of guests in its Art Nouveau rooms, but
which was neglected after its closure in the 1970s.
Since then on, its population gradually abandoned the
village, until the painter Mario Alioli decided to
revitalize it and to recover its vocation as a tourist
attraction. His idea was to transform it into a
"painted village" dedicated to Giuseppe Grandi (Ganna
1843-1894) and to Odoardo Tabacchi (Ganna 1836-
Milan 1905), two of the most prestigious 19th-century
Italian sculptors, who were born in Valganna. The
ambitious project was begun by inviting 16 artists to
create painted and frescoed panels to be placed on the
walls of the houses; these would celebrate the
traditions and former trades of the rural life of the
village, forming a kind of narrative itinerary. The visitor
is welcome by a "poem" in Bosino dialect, composed
by Paolo Rattazzi, and by a painted landscape showing
a glimpse of the village. In the foreground there are an
overturned pannier and a rake, symbolizing the end of
peasant life. This first work is followed by the
paintings of the "Peasant" by Albino Ambrosetti, the
"Woodcutter" by Mario Alioli, and the "Basketweavers"
by Mario Bogani, one of the most delicate
and particular frescoes in the village. A small church
dedicated to St. John the Baptist stands just in the heart
of the built-up area. On its walls we can see the
"Crucifixion" by Vittorio Tavernari and the "Patron
Saint’s Feast" by Carlo Farioli. Some of the trades and