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00:00Jewels of the Alps, the five largest lakes of Upper Italy, born of glaciers, shaped by water,
00:28tamed by the human hand.
00:34They tell stories of nature and culture.
00:42In the rhythm of the seasons, they all show a changing face.
00:53Each in its own way.
01:16Lake Lugano.
01:22Situated on the southern edge of the Alps, part of it is in Switzerland, the other part
01:27in Italy.
01:30Compared to its famous cousins, Maggiore and Como, it has a rather low profile.
01:37Unlike the other lakes of Upper Italy, it is full of bends and branches, its steep shores
01:43difficult to negotiate as they wind through the former glacial valleys like fjords.
01:49Little villages cling to the steep slopes like bird nests.
01:55Planting gardens and olive groves is a real challenge.
01:59In the shadow of the Alps, which in early spring were still snow-capped.
02:08Millions of years ago, things looked completely different here.
02:15It was a tropical lagoon with a coral reef and dinosaurs.
02:22Immortalized as fossils, they are witnesses of its genesis.
02:33The former ocean reef is now a homey habitat for mountain creatures.
02:44At the heart of the lake, Monte San Salvatore towers to an altitude of over 900 meters.
02:55Its summit offers the only sweeping view of all branches of Lake Lugano.
03:14It is the resident mountain of the city of Lugano on the northern shore.
03:24The city is the financial and commercial center of the Swiss canton of Ticino.
03:34Only a few kilometers away lies the municipality of Alto Mar Cantone.
03:47The ruins of traditional mountain villages bear witness to the poverty of their former inhabitants.
03:53For millennia, trade routes ran through here, connecting the alpine north with the Mediterranean south.
04:04They have left a legacy.
04:06About 2,000 years ago, the Romans brought sweet chestnuts with them.
04:11In this barren area, they soon became a staple food.
04:16Most of the old groves are no longer cultivated.
04:23These trees have seen a lot.
04:26They can live as long as 700 years.
04:29They are still a defining feature of the landscape.
04:33And their dead wood creates space for new life.
04:43In March and April, the trees are still bare.
04:46The leaves develop late.
04:48That's just fine with the spring flowers.
04:51They bloom as long as the sun's rays can still make it to the ground.
04:56The ancient tree stumps are a meeting place for insects.
05:05On sunny days, as many as 100 firebugs can gather at once.
05:11Now, in April, they had only one thing in mind.
05:15Procreation.
05:18Mating couples remain as if glued together for hours, sometimes even days.
05:35Their striking color is a warning signal.
05:41The little beetles are not actually poisonous, but they're no tasty treat either.
05:51Firebugs are on an urgent mission to secure the survival of their species.
05:56They have a lifespan of just one year.
06:00It will not be transformed.
06:08Along the lakeshore, the delicate green of the first leaves was transforming the mountain slopes.
06:19A green wave of foliage now rolled across the banks.
06:29rolled across the banks.
06:35Finally, a fresh supply of food.
06:47As they make their rounds, bumblebees leave a trail of scent markers to show which blooms
06:53have already been noshed.
06:59This blue tit was also eager to have a go at the fresh buds and blooms.
07:06But it wasn't interested in the nectar.
07:13It was hunting larvae and caterpillars hidden in the umbels.
07:19Birds, bees, bumblebees and many other insects revel in spring abundance here, thanks not
07:29least to the many wild cherry trees.
07:33They are thought to be the origin of the epithet of Lake Lugano, which goes back centuries.
07:39Ceresio, Lake of the Cherries.
07:54South of Lugano, the foreland at the base of Monte San Salvatore juts into the water.
08:00At its tip, the little town of Morcotte, known far and wide for over a thousand years.
08:13It was once Lake Lugano's main port, a transshipment center where goods from northern Italy were reloaded for the journey onwards over the Alps.
08:23The building facades hint at the historical wealth.
08:35Nowadays, in springtime, Morcotte still seems a bit sleepy.
08:40The lakeshore promenade and patrician houses go back to the Middle Ages, the heyday of this little Swiss town.
08:53Today, another day we surfed with the Nile zoo.
09:00It's beenademou.
09:07Visitors from throughout the world now come here to experience the special mix of culture, history, and lake landscape.
09:13Oleander and rhododendron line the water.
09:43In April, animal life in Morcote is still undisturbed.
10:14Young fish splash about in the shallows,
10:19safe here from the predators that lurk farther out.
10:34This Mediterranean gull was hungry for a larger meal.
10:43But getting such a big lunch down takes practice.
11:00Head first proved a better tactic.
11:03For the people of Lake Lugano,
11:17fish have always been a part of daily life.
11:20But there aren't many locals left
11:22who can still earn a living from fishery.
11:25One of them is cook Gabriela Riggiani.
11:44I've always lived here on the lake.
11:47But I started fishing thanks to my mother.
11:53So, I've always been in contact with the lake
11:56through the fishing and the fishermen.
11:59That's how I've helped to keep the tradition alive.
12:05Gabriela takes to the lake at dawn.
12:08For me, the lake is primarily a means of relaxation.
12:31It brings me great joy and serenity.
12:34Whether I'm out in the boat,
12:35or go swimming, or boarding,
12:38you get a different perspective.
12:39Everything looks much more interesting.
12:41I struggle to even imagine living somewhere else.
12:44The Melida causeway.
12:59It was built in the 19th century
13:02atop a submerged glacial moraine
13:05and connects the Swiss towns of Melida on the western bank
13:09and Bissone, a gateway to Italy on the eastern side.
13:12Gabriela's friend Mario de la Santa
13:16had cast his nets right by the causeway.
13:27The catch is always a real grab bag.
13:31Brown trout weighing kilos,
13:33whitefish, little aborella,
13:35sunbass and pike.
13:42Fish stalks in Lake Lugano remain abundant,
13:45so Gabriela can give free reign to her passion.
13:48How's it going?
14:02Sorry, my hands are a bit dirty.
14:04Have you had any luck?
14:05Have you had any luck?
14:07Oh, yes, look! How beautiful!
14:11Yeah, a nice trout, eh?
14:13What's this one here?
14:15This? You mean this one?
14:18The silver one. That's a whitefish.
14:21Yes, that's right, it's a whitefish.
14:23And that one there's a trout?
14:25That's a brown trout.
14:26Ah, yeah, a brownie, look.
14:29Gorgeous.
14:31It weighs 2.9, almost 3 kilos.
14:34A real beauty.
14:36And then there's this one here.
14:38Beautiful, beautiful fish.
14:40Did you have such a good catch yesterday?
14:42Oh, yesterday, er, 1 kilo 9.
14:45The one from yesterday was twice as big.
14:48Yes, it was like this.
14:51Gorgeous.
14:53But was yesterday's like this?
14:55Or like this?
14:56No, like this.
14:58I'll put them in for you, so they don't escape.
15:04The fresh lake fish would be turned into delicious meals later that day.
15:09Grazie. Ciao, ciao, buona giornata.
15:12Gabriela's tiny restaurant is housed in one of the old rock-cut cellars called Cantina, hewn out of the Logano lakeshore.
15:33Local wine and herbs and vegetables fresh from Gabriela's own kitchen garden are a keynote of her cuisine.
15:42The recipes reflect both a Mediterranean-Italian influence and Swiss Alpine traditions.
15:58Marinated whitefish fillets.
16:02Lemons and olive oil.
16:05Polenta.
16:07Smoked trout.
16:08Fish pate.
16:11Her culinary art unites aromas of the region.
16:25One arm of the lake branches off to the east.
16:28Its steep slopes offer little room for settlement.
16:34The terrain first flattens out on the Italian side, at the very end of the lake.
16:43Only four kilometers from the lake shore lies the Lago di Piano, Lake Piano.
16:49Around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, it was still part of Lake Lugano itself.
16:59But as the glaciers retreated, their meltwater washed sand, clay and plants ashore.
17:06Over the millennia, the eastern shore was first transformed into a swamp and later into a separate little lake.
17:16It is now the Lago di Piano Nature Reserve, a refuge where aquatic birds can go about their spring mating activities undisturbed.
17:25Among these birds, the great crested grebe is something special.
17:36Not just because of its extravagant plumage.
17:39Its courtship ritual is extremely time-consuming.
17:49The birds mirror the movements of their partner in an elaborate dance spectacle.
18:10Head shaking, mock grooming, material presentations and the penguin pose, all among the moves in their broad repertoire.
18:24Static gallop
18:37Static gallop
18:40Static gallop
18:42Static gallop
18:44But even all that doesn't clinch the deal.
19:13It can take weeks before they finally unite.
19:32No one can steal the show from the great crested grebe.
19:46Between the two southern arms of the Ceresio towers Monte San Giorgio.
19:54Since 2007 the mountain has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
19:59Some of the world's most important fossil finds have been made in its rock strata.
20:06A journey back in time to the prehistoric origins of Lake Lugano.
20:20About 250 million years ago.
20:23Long before the Alps existed and glaciers still dominated the valleys.
20:28The site was a tropical ocean lagoon with a large coral reef.
20:34Dinosaur fossils have given scientists insight into a time span of 15 million years.
20:40Ages before the lakes of Upper Italy came to be.
20:50At the Fossil Museum in Mérida the distant past is brought to life.
20:55Inspired by their finds researchers have built full scale replica scenes.
21:02Inspired by the Fossil Museum in Mérida.
21:10Hard to believe but some of these mountains once lay below sea level.
21:20The Cantina Riva Morcote on the opposite shore is another example of regional cultural heritage.
21:27Rock cut cellars called Cantina were hewn out of the stone of the former coral reef.
21:34Originally the Cantina were the cold storage facilities of the wealthy.
21:38Now they're home to a burgeoning artisan winery industry.
21:47Where wine is now bottled used to be a natural refrigerated warehouse for cheese, meat and other perishables.
21:54A must, especially in the summertime.
22:00For the winemakers the Cantina are now a workplace.
22:07Cold in the summer and in winter never below freezing.
22:11That enables the wine to mature without artificial temperature regulation.
22:16On a sunny day it can get very hot on Lake Lugano.
22:31But inside you almost never break a sweat.
22:35Natural air currents and the insulation of the rock keep the temperature at a cool constant.
22:54the water.
22:57Since time out of mind the locals have known how to harness the special geological features of the lake.
23:05The old, often decrepit storage sellers have now been given a new lease on life, and enabled
23:21Patrick Balabio to leave his life as a banker behind.
23:36A new beginning for both Vintner and Wine Vault.
23:47The prehistoric Lake Lugano coral reef left not only fossils behind.
24:01One especially spectacular relict of this age is the Grotta di Recia, a limestone cave right
24:08on the Italian shore, full of odd rock formations and surprises.
24:30Since 1922, it has belonged to the family of Melania Pizzagalli, who opens it for curious
24:36visitors in the warm seasons.
24:41You never know what creatures await you here in the darkness.
24:54The stalactites and stalagmites have attracted visitors for over 250 years.
25:05The different chambers were later linked up to create a circular walking tour.
25:15All her life, Melania Pizzagalli has closely observed the natural processes here.
25:29You can virtually watch the water forming the fabulous dripstone structures.
25:34They are in a constant state of change, albeit a very slow one.
25:43For millennia, rainwater has seeped through the earth and rock here.
25:48Over time, a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide converts it into a weak acid, which
25:53then seeps through the ground, slowly dissolving the limestone.
26:00Drop by drop, the water limestone solution drips its way through the rock, until it finally
26:06runs down along a stalactite onto the cavern floor.
26:11The liquid leaves behind tiny calcite deposits that, over the centuries, grow into stalagmites.
26:21The Reixia limestone caverns lie hidden in a little natural sanctum on the steep banks of
26:27the lake, a bewitching place.
26:32At its far end, a waterfall plunges 75 meters downwards.
26:42A fine misty rain dampens the rock, an ideal microclimate for rare types of moss and fern.
26:53But they are not the only ones who feel at home here.
27:00My mother tends the garden here outside the cave.
27:18She loves these little ceramic and wooden animals and likes to place them all along the
27:24way, to give visitors to the cave a cheerful welcome.
27:34The special thing about the Reixia Caves Complex is that it lies within a nature park similar
27:39to the local mountain forests.
27:41In this environment, we can admire the animal life here up close.
27:59For fire salamanders, the shady green garden is ideal.
28:05Here they find all they need to live.
28:08Worms, snails, millipedes and other insects to feed on.
28:18And humid hideouts for sanctuary on hot, dry days.
28:24These amphibians remain loyal to the ancestral territory their whole life long.
28:30Which can mean decades.
28:34Fire salamanders have prehistoric origins, and we find them along the garden paths by the
28:43caves, especially after it's rained, or is just very humid.
28:49But the main springtime attraction for these animals lies deep within the cave.
29:06Clear pools of water.
29:19Clear salamanders don't lay eggs.
29:22They give birth to live young, right in the shallow water.
29:32The newborns have to fend for themselves right from the start, feeding on little invertebrates
29:37and larvae.
29:40For some three to six months, the tiny creatures live entirely in the water.
29:48They breathe by means of delicate external gills.
30:01The gills eventually regress, signaling the young salamanders to leave the water and start
30:08their grown-up lives outside the cave.
30:21Not far from the Lugano lakeshore, there are other hidden habitats for plants and animals
30:27that wouldn't be able to survive in the big lake.
30:31One pond here is the perfect little refuge for countless grass frogs that were now eager to mate.
30:44In March and April, they awaken from their winter torpor to return to this place year after year.
30:53The males mount the backs of the females and hold on fast.
30:57And they won't let go again until they've succeeded in conceiving the next generation.
31:03But that requires taking a dip in the water.
31:15The grass frogs produce huge clumps of spawn.
31:18They can contain up to 4,000 eggs, which the male fertilizes all at once from behind.
31:27Both eggs and tadpoles have a high mortality rate.
31:41The speed at which the embryos develop depends on the microclimate of the particular pond.
31:47It can be days or even weeks.
31:58Lake Lugano belongs to both Italy and Switzerland.
32:02One section of the border runs right over Monte Generoso.
32:10Early May.
32:11Onlookers gather in the Italian village of Lanzo di Entelvi, just below the summit.
32:16They were here to witness the Transumanza, the day the halflingers are herded from their
32:26winter quarters up to the alpine pastures.
32:40The history of these horses is unusual.
32:43They once belonged to a farmer on the neighboring mountain Monte Bispino.
33:06When he died, the animals were left to fend for themselves.
33:10They ran wild, making the mountain fields their home.
33:17But in the unusually harsh winter of 2008, hunger drove them into the gardens of the nearby villages,
33:25much to the displeasure of the villagers.
33:33Women and Swiss horse lovers then banded together to erect the winter quarters in Lanzo di Entelvi.
33:40The halflingers now spend the cold season there until springtime, when they are allowed to
33:50return to freedom in the wild.
34:04The animals know the way.
34:15In the meantime, the alpine horse drive has become an event.
34:19Many people come to accompany the animals to their summer pastures.
34:26They're not allowed to hunt for the ants, but they're denen they are the king's
34:29and their horses are the ones in the wild.
34:30But their animals would not escape to rest.
34:32They've got everybody to go to the village.
34:33They've got everybody to the village, and they're done!
34:35They're connecting with them, and they're making them look true.
34:36They're making them look true.
34:37They're going to be the same.
34:42The Lynx has to get them out.
34:45The Lynx has to get them in a.
34:46The Lynx has to get them in a.
34:52All summer long, the mountaintop belongs to the halflingers.
35:22Meanwhile, back at the eastern end of Lake Lugano, the great crested grebes were still
35:44working on starting a family.
35:53At least they'd made some progress with nest building, a construction made of reeds, little
36:03twigs and water plants.
36:05The lining was now being carefully applied.
36:17Only when everything is in tip-top shape do they have time for procreation.
36:31The great crested grebe female can lay up to seven eggs, which both parents take turns
36:37brooding.
36:40And that, too, takes time.
36:48After the arduous mating season, it was now finally time for a good rest.
36:52Until their chicks hatch, life as a twosome is serene.
37:13The neighbours, on the other hand, were keeping busy.
37:28But patience is a virtue.
37:31The great crested grebes now still had to wait 30 days to finally become parents.
37:40At sunset on balmy late spring evenings, a special light show can be seen here.
37:57Thousands of glowworms twinkle to beat the band.
38:01They, too, are all about breeding in late spring and use their light signals to attract partners.
38:15The lady glowworms sit in the grass, waiting for gentlemen callers.
38:33Until the break of day, when the show finally draws to a close.
38:38The weather can be very changeable on Lake Lugano.
39:02Even though the sun was still shining above the gathering clouds, bad weather was rolling in below.
39:18The water was now all but deserted.
39:21But for some deployments, rain is no obstacle.
39:38Despite stormy weather, a secret mission was underway.
39:42The exact staging ground remains strictly confidential.
40:01Divers readied themselves to plumb the depths of the 288-meter-deep lake.
40:07For such an endeavor, exact planning is vital.
40:26Because their assignment was not without risk.
40:30Poor visibility and cold were major challenges.
40:33The attempt could be made only with the right equipment and experience.
40:40A solo run would only increase the danger.
40:43Working as a team, the two divers would have each other's backs.
41:03The search engine has more.
41:09Huh?
41:10Now, wait, let me check the article out.
41:11The history of the campgrounds are moving forward.
41:13No, no, no.
41:14The air in the campgrounds are moving af.
41:15Well, no, no, no, no.
41:16No, no, no, no.
41:17No, no, no, no, no..
41:18No, no, no...
41:20No, no, no.
41:21No, no, no, no, no...
41:22Just 10 meters down, all is cloaked in darkness.
41:42The sun keeps only the surface level of the water warm.
41:54Deeper down, the temperature drops dramatically.
42:04But that is the very reason the divers were taking the plunge here.
42:09They were looking for a treasure that loves the cold.
42:21Wine bottles.
42:35Once found, they were carefully salvaged.
42:47Success.
43:01Now the freight just had to be brought ashore.
43:05The bottles belong to the Bianchi family.
43:22Their wine spends a whole year at the bottom of Lake Lugano.
43:27We started this project to promote the region and our lake.
43:39The idea is to age our wine in a different way than in the cellar.
43:53And that's very important to us because it enables a natural maturation process, which reflects the philosophy of our company, an organic company.
44:09The interesting thing here is that the temperature in the lake always remains constant.
44:23Instead of lying still in the cellar, the bottles are always in motion.
44:27That makes the wine creamier, more delicate and very distinct from the cellar version.
44:39Capricious as the Ceresio weather is, the rain clouds were soon on their way again.
44:46Back at the little frog pond, a transformation had taken place.
45:02Here too, frogmen were on the move.
45:09The spawn clumps had now hatched into thousands of little tadpoles.
45:20Even at this tender age, they are already hunters, feeding among other things, on other larvae.
45:31It takes a few weeks for tadpoles to develop into fully formed frogs.
45:36They grow limbs and their gills disappear.
45:39Only the tail remains for a little while longer.
45:53The froglets would stay in their pond until summertime, when they leave the water for good.
45:59Some of their neighbors were ready to abandon the water as well.
46:16Broad-bodied chasers, a type of dragonfly.
46:31They live in the water as larvae for up to two years.
46:35Now the mature creatures were ready to take to the air.
46:39Unlike other winged insects, the broad-bodied chaser forms no cocoon.
46:46It creeps out of the water and emerges directly from its larval case as a dragonfly.
46:56The metamorphosis is dependent on the length of daylight and the temperature, which in spring are just right.
47:02The larvae climb up out of the water on plant stems and remain poised as they begin to breathe and then peel themselves out of their case, which is left behind empty.
47:17It takes about three hours for their newborn body to become hard enough to fly.
47:26Dragonflies like these were among the first winged insects to emerge about 300 million years ago.
47:49And they have followed the same cycle ever since, year after year.
47:54A metamorphosis older than the landscape in which they live.
48:17All over the place, creatures were now growing up fast in the warm spring weather.
48:23All over the place, creatures were now growing up.
48:25Including the little great-crested greeps.
48:41The parents were still providing transportation, although the chicks can actually swim and dive from birth.
48:52But for such a tiny bird, danger lurks everywhere.
48:56Predators such as pike would have no trouble snatching the chick from the water's surface.
49:01So, for the first three weeks, the young birds mainly stick to the safety of their parents' dorsal plumage.
49:08The climate on all the lakes of Upper Italy, in Constantinople,
49:24The climate on all the lakes of Upper Italy, including Lake Lugano, takes its cues from
49:41the Mediterranean.
49:50That's why spring comes early here to awaken the lake from its winter sleep.
49:59The transformation into a sunny Mediterranean water paradise takes place within a matter
50:05of weeks.
50:10Now nothing remained of the snow-capped peaks of early spring.
50:17In June, the chestnut forests in the north show a whole new face.
50:22Their bloom ushers in the summer.
50:26A chestnut tree has to reach the age of 20 to bloom for the first time.
50:34But every year after that, it produces pollen for an entire month.
50:42It's long influences comprise both male and female blooms.
50:51Their nectar and sticky pollen and the strong scent of their catkins attract numerous pollinators.
50:57In addition to bees, biologists have identified over 130 species of beetle and other insects
51:04among them.
51:06The locals could look forward to another bumper crop of chestnuts in the fall.
51:16Lake Lugano is a true master of metamorphosis.
51:19From tropical ocean to glacial lake and finally to the body of water that spans two countries
51:26today.
51:27The lake's long geological history harbors many surprises, well worth exploring whatever
51:34the season.
51:35The lake's long geological history of the sea.
51:36The lake's long geological history of the sea.
51:41The lake.
51:42The lake.
51:43The lake.
51:44The lake.
51:45The lake.
51:46The lake.
51:47The lake.
51:48The lake.
51:49The lake.
51:50The lake.
51:51The lake.
51:52The lake.
51:53The lake.
51:54The lake.
51:55The lake.
51:56The lake.
51:57The lake.
51:58The lake.
51:59The lake.
52:00The lake.
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52:05The lake.
52:06The lake.
52:07The lake.
52:08The lake.
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