On our way down to Bellinzona again we determined to take S. Maria
in Calanca, and accordingly were dropped by the diligence near
Gabbiolo, whence there is a path across the meadows and under the
chestnuts which leads to Verdabbio. There are some good bits near
the church of this village, and some quaint modern frescoes on a
public-house a little off the main footpath, but there is no
accommodation. From this village the path ascends rapidly for an
hour or more, till just as one has made almost sure that one must
have gone wrong and have got too high, or be on the track to an
alpe only, one finds one's self on a wide beaten path with walls on
either side. We are now on a level with S. Maria itself, and
turning sharply to the left come in a few minutes right upon the
massive keep and the campanile, which are so striking when seen
from down below. They are much more striking when seen from close
at hand. The sketch I give does not convey the notion - as what
sketch can convey it? - that one is at a great elevation, and it is
this which gives its especial charm to S. Maria in Calanca.
The approach to the church is beautiful, and the church itself full
of interest. The village was evidently at one time a place of some
importance, though it is not easy to understand how it came to be
built in such a situation.
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