Sasso del Ferro

Sasso del Ferro rises above the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Lombardy, a steep limestone block that stands 1,062 metres above sea level. At its foot lies Laveno-Mombello, a town of red-roofed houses and narrow streets where the funicular begins its climb. The cable car carries visitors up 580 metres in about seven minutes, offering views of the lake and the Alps along the way. At the summit a hotel and restaurant serve local dishes and cold drinks to walkers and hang-gliders. A concrete launch platform juts out over the valley, ready for pilots to take off when the wind is right. Those who prefer to stay on the ground can follow a marked hiking path back down through beech and chestnut woods. The mountain has long been a magnet for adventurers. In the 19th century artists and writers came to sketch its dramatic profile and the wide sweep of water below. Today climbers tackle the north face’s limestone slabs while paragliders drift above the treetops. The funicular itself dates from the early 20th century and remains one of the steepest in Italy, climbing at an average gradient of 58 per cent. Every weekend families ride up for the view, children pressing their faces to the windows as the cable car sways gently. From the summit terrace visitors look straight across the lake to the peaks of the Pennine Alps. On clear days the view stretches as far as Monte Rosa, 50 kilometres to the west. The hotel terrace fills with diners at lunchtime, plates of lake fish and glasses of local wine set out beside them. Below, the funicular descends in a steady rhythm, its cables humming against the pylons. The hiking path winds through quiet woods where woodpeckers tap and wild cyclamen bloom in autumn. As the sun lowers, the limestone face glows pink, and the first hang-gliders prepare for their final flights of the day.