Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the least-known regions of Italy, and yet it holds a great many surprises for lovers of nature and art, boasting splendid villas and gardens along the banks of Lake Como and Lake Garda, medieval villages, countless monuments and buildings, and statues and paintings dotted all across the region, from the plains south of the city to the foothills of the Alps in the north.The many marvelous places that one will discover through the eyes of this well-loved art critic include the Romanesque basilica of San Pietro al Monte perched high on a mountainside; the fabulous marquetry designs by Lorenzo Lotto in Bergamo Cathedral; the prehistoric rock etchings in the Valcamonica; Mario Botta's stunning Santa Maria degli Angeli chapel on Monte Tamaro; the eighteenth-century villa of Balbianello on Lake Como; and, not least, the Romanesque church of San Michele in Pavia.