The key to Ticino

Hospitality is in his blood

Claudio grew up knowing two languages in Bolzano in Italian South Tyrol: German and Italian. At the tender age of 14, Claudio had his first job interview at a Tyrolean 4-star hotel. From then on, he cleaned windows and silverware in black trousers, a white jacket and a bow tie. "Piccolo", as the others called him, enjoyed the work and was fascinated by the prominent guests that came and went. Room service was his favourite task because he could thereby catch glimpses of the hotel's luxurious suites. His enthusiasm attracted the attention of the manager of the reception desk. Thus, Claudio was promoted and allowed to give the valuable hotel keys to the guests himself, at the time unaware that later two golden keys would permanently adorn his jacket.

Hotel management school was his next goal. The school was in Lausanne, so Claudio travelled to Switzerland without speaking a word of French. While he spent more than half a year diligently learning the new language in order to be admitted, the lira, the Italian currency at the time, lost a lot of its value and he was unable to overcome the financial hurdle that arose. But his knowledge of German and Italian paid off when he was able to interview for a job in Ticino. His new employer, whom he has stuck with to this day: the Hotel Giardino in Ascona.

Ticino has become his home. More than 20 years later, Claudio also unexpectedly became a Swiss citizen. He had to go see the mayor of Brissago, whom he had befriended and who was eager to naturalise Claudio. Thus, he was asked the most important questions about Switzerland and the Federal Council. It was child's play for Claudio, who only a few days earlier had welcomed Ms Dreifuss at the hotel and had been invited to Kandersteg by Federal Councillor Ogi.

The more beautiful the place, the more extravagant the request

Claudio knows Ticino inside and out.  As we visit his favourite places, he has a story to tell about each one. At Osteria Borei, the guests even arrive in a helicopter at lunchtime in order to taste the risotto, the secret recipe for which has been handed down for three generations. The osteria's guestbook preserves these extraordinary visits. Claudio once accompanied a heiress of a jewellery company who wanted to drive up the narrow curves to the osteria in her Ford Thunderbird and the car nearly broke down because the motor overheated. In the end, after too much wine and grappa, Claudio had to rearrange the drive home, and the beautiful car got to enjoy the enchanting view of Lake Maggiore for a night.

One's own tree on the Brissago Islands

Claudio used to run riot on the lake in a pink wooden boat, the Aphrodite, but nowadays he casts off in a modern black ship from the harbour and goes out on the deep blue Lake Maggiore. There are two small islands in the middle of the lake that, depending on the perspective, also appear to be one island. During the trip, Claudio and our skipper, Claude, an experienced and skilful sailor from Lago Maggiore, tell me about the old days. How Ascona and Locarno have developed, who lived where and how the two islands have changed over the past 100 years. Claudio used to chauffeur his guests to the island in the old "tanker" and spoiled them with delicious set meals on the ship. When the excursion ship went by, one had to skilfully dodge the waves. Otherwise the dishes fell to the floor. They were adventurous trips that the hotel guests still talk about in the hotel lobby. When the motor broke down, and that happened every now and then, the grappa was especially delicious and bridged the time until help arrived.

The Brissago Islands are quite special for Claudio. Both islands can be seen rather well from his favourite places in Ticino and his small house above Brissago very near the Italian border. There are many stories that connect him to these two patches of green, which even served as a location for a gunpowder factory during the Second World War. One of these stories is about an unforgettable wedding: As concierge, Claudio has organised a great number of weddings – one of them on the "Piemonte", an old paddle steamer, with a stop off one of the islands. Since the bridal couple did not find a suitable suggestion among the many proposals as to who should conduct the ceremony, the groom's mother suggested on the spot that Claudio was best suited to do it. And that's how Claudio came to marry these two young people on the beautifully lit steamboat in front of the whole wedding party. In his speech, he talked about Baroness Antoinette de Saint Léger, who spent a long time beautifying the islands, and he took the guests along on the trip to the two islands, which together have much to tell.

The Brissago Islands are renowned for their exotic gardens. Plants from around the world can be found there. One of them thanks to Claudio. Claudio once bought a sack of wood for an open fire. As he was emptying it, two coffee beans also fell out of the jute sack. Claudio carefully planted and nurtured them. And lo and behold – a big coffee tree grew. At some point it became too big and too rich in flavour for his flat, so Claudio offered the tree to a gardener on the Brissago Islands, and so it was shipped to the island. As we reach the island and dock the ship, we are eager to see if we will find the «Café Arabica tree». And sure enough there it is, and it conjures up a broad grin on Claudio's face.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

When Claudio is not in his small house stirring his own polenta in a copper pot or tending to his sage, then he is travelling around the wide world. Travelling is his drug and the lifeblood of his job. He can only do it well when he himself goes on a discovery tour and expands his network. Only then can he give his guests advice regarding excursions or get them into exclusive places.

When travelling, Claudio especially enjoys Hertz's offer and once in a while he takes an extra turn with the rental car. "Detours are the most beautiful things in the world", says Claudio with a sparkle in his eyes as he talks about his adventures in a car and on foot. In cities he likes best to put away his mobile phone and just take off, get his bearings and in this way discover the most beautiful corners. But what Claudio likes best is to get lost in Venice. "In today's world we have forgotten something important", says Claudio: to ask other people questions! We orient ourselves according to various apps and guidebooks and as a result are so focused on our mobile phone that we forget we could talk to someone and ask questions.

Of course, Claudio also has an anecdote: He was riding on scooters south of Naples with a concierge friend when they decided to take a detour in order to get to a hill. Along the way they met a local person who on the spot invited them for a drink. Thus, the two concierges enjoyed two divine lemon granitas made from freshly squeezed Sorrento lemons. They talked to each other over cool drinks and the elderly gentleman turned out to be a bartender who had mixed drinks in the grandest palaces in Europe. With this story and his others, Claudio once again made clear to us that detours are worth taking and are the real sense behind travelling.