10
Currents
January 2019
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Glacier Express. In four hours, The Bernina navi-
gates spiral loops, 55 tunnels, and 196 bridges.
Passengers can embark in Chur, Davos, or St.
Moritz, all in the Swiss Alps, or in Tirano, heading
north.
Fortunately, The Bernina, a direct train with
panoramic windows, is included in a Eurail Pass,
with a $15.00 USD (approx.) reservation fee
required. (Buy Swiss francs, euros for Italy.) For
many (including Globetrotter), the Bernina offers
greater scenery than the Glacier
Express’s 7.5- hour journey (both
trains are worthwhile).
After disembarking in Tirano,
one should sample Northern cui-
sine, featuring polenta, gnocchi,
and risotto. (The South is pasta-
centric.) Northern cuisine uses a
wider variety of meats, and more
dairy products (butter versus olive
oil).
Tirano’s food might be
sourced from the Swiss canton of
Graubünden, or from its home-
town Valtellina Valley, a notable
wine region of Lombardy. In all of
Italy, one eats for both the body
and the soul.
For those hungry for art,
Tirano’s gem, Palazzo Salis,
awaits. The Palazzo, in the Capo
di Terra area, incorporates
facades from the 15th and 16th
centuries into the main 17th cen-
tury structure.
Palazzo Salis is a masterpiece
of trompe l’oeil (tromp loi), a tech-
nique which “deceives the eye.”
Here, the artist produces, on a flat
surface, the illusion of three
dimensions. From a distance, the
viewer’s eyes perceive high
vaulted ceilings, windows, doors,
staircases, drapery, marble pil-
lars, balconies, or tiers of floors
when, in fact, there are low ceil-
ings and one-dimensional sur-
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