A bookshop with a history

by Judith Nappo

Under the midday sun, I meander onto the cobblestone of the Piazza San Pietro and study the different architectural styles around me. Although bordered on the south by the Lago Maggiore, the Swiss town of Ascona receives no breezes from Italy today. 

The slanting bell-towered church covers me with its shadow as I turn to admire the baroque façade of the Casa Serodine. Built in 1620, it now houses the tourist office and one of Ascona's treasures: the Libreria della Rondine, an antique bookstore. Once a meeting place of the Intelligentsia, today it is lovingly managed by owner and book expert Angelika Sowinski, who radiates passion for the tomes she sells. For the main part, these books are about the writers, artists, philosophers, and revolutionaries who settled here throughout the 1900s.

HQ for free thinkers-and anarchists

The spirit of the individualists who came to Ascona to live out their artistic convictions is not only found in the heart of the Libreria, but also on the surrounding hills. Monte Verita, the Hill of Truth, just above the town, was home in the 1890s to a colony founded by a group of naturalist vegetarians. Its reputation spread and soon after it became the headquarters for all free thinkers and even anarchists. Personalities such as Thomas Mann, Paul Klee, Isadora Duncan, Herman Hesse, and Leon Trotsky came to share the air with other adventurers in search of refuge.

P.S. An indescribable sweetness permeates the air of Ascona at this time of year-the wisteria is in full bloom and the vines cover the buildings, laden with clusters of small purple flowers like puffy hearts.