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slow travel The path, originally for horses and carts, curls gently upwards leading to Miasino, a village of cobbled lanes, stone houses, some with a plaster-finish painted with frescos - vines, flowers, stylised lions – and a piazza. We sit and ogle at the buildings around the square. The houses, both modest and grand, are 300-years-old, but are still homes for ordinary folk. We follow skinny lanes uphill, around a corner and grin at the pinch-me-I-might- be-dreaming 1566 church of San Rocco. The façade is decorated with statues of saints plus one of Jesus, so high up that only god can see it clearly. In the adjoining bell tower a cluster of bells are waiting to strike the hour, and steep steps lead to the solid wood door. The interior walls are intensely decorated with religious artwork, much of it as old as the church. In our antipodean world this is only found in history books. A lane behind the church leads to an open valley with small farms, where cows are knee deep in grass. Their low-toned bells dong gently as they move. Hamlets of five or six houses hunker into the hillsides. Some have magnificent vegetable gardens with fat cabbages, jack-in-the-beanstalk beans, spinach, tomatoes, aubergine and tall scraggly artichokes. We pass roses rambling over fences, hedges of pungently sweet jasmine and flowers – tiger lilies, petunias, geraniums OUR PICKS: Places to Eat Piccolo Hotel Ristoro Olina Olina, 40, Orta San Giulio, Italy The restaurant at Piccolo Hotel Olina does imaginative takes on Italian cooking and has immaculate service. You might start with the slightly sweet and sour gnocchi di castagne e zucca con crema di radicchio scottato (chestnut and pumpkin gnocchi in a radish cream). Taverna Antico Agnello Via Olina 18, Orta San Giulio (00 39 0322 90259). This rustic taverna serves 'horse with garlic and rosemary' - as close as you will want to get to minced donkey meat, a local speciality. Closed Tuesday. Bar Caffe Rossi Piazza Mazzini 22-24, Bellagio (00 39 031 950 196). This elegant bar with its Art Nouveau wood and mirrors, is the best place to loll over a dry martini. Al Sorriso Via Roma 18, Soriso (00 39 0322 983 228). Located in the tiny village of Soriso, eight kilometres south from Orta San Giulio on the road to Gozzano, Al Sorriso, spelt with double 'r' because sorriso means smile, is one of the few restaurants in Italy with three Michelin stars and offers a no-holds-barred gourmet experience. It is also one of Italy's most expensive restaurants. Feast on giant ravioli with goat's cheese filling, or crostini with polenta, onions, roses, foie gras and pomegranate seeds. There are also moderately priced rooms where you can sleep it off. 118 | www.hermagazine.co.nz