Request for additional info on RoccaBella
I'm new to the site and I'm hoping this is the way to go about eliciting additional information about your intriguing posting (Roccabella in Locarno). I found the photos beautiful and melancholic at the same time. The terrific subdued colors heighten the tension between this once beautiful place and its current sad state of disrepair.... It is a hauntingly familiar looking place. In the late fall of 1956, as a 16-year old Hungarian refugee, my family and I were put up for about a month or so in a beautiful stately villa called Rocca Bella in Minusio on the outskirts of Locarno, courtesy of the Locarno chapter of the Lions Club. I seem to recognize the general siting of the villa depicted in the photos (e.g. the balconies overlooking the lake), the three large arched windows that form part of the long hallway inside, the door opening to the balcony, etc. Of course, I'm utterly shocked at the state of disrepair, if indeed this is the same villa, especially since the general area is a highly desirable residential neighborhood with presumably very high real estate prices. On a brief trip to the area in 2003 I tried to find the old villa but without success. I'll again be visiting Locarno in a couple of weeks and would very much like to find it this time. I would be most grateful if the author could provide the exact location of and direction to the villa either in the form of the street address or in coordinates or perhaps mark the exact spot on Google Earth.... Thanks in advance for whatever information you may be able to supply. soproni