Lugano
is the most meridional town of Switzerland. It
is part of Ticino (Tessin), the only Swiss canton
where Italian is the official language. Ticino
is certainly my favorite canton of Switzerland,
you can find many place for hiking, very high
mountains,
glaciers, beautiful lakes (Lago Maggiore and Lago
di Lugano) and rivieras, beautiful Ticinese architecture,
the best food of Switzerland and certainly the
best claret of Switzerland (Merlot del Ticino)!!!
What else? Of course, many funiculars and trains!
The
funicular Angioli is (was) the fourth funicular
of Lugano and certainly the most unknown.
It is located in the south of Lugano and was linking
Via Nassa (Piazza Luini) to Via Clemente Maraini,
the way which goes to the main train station.
The lower station starts just beside the Santa
Maria degli Angioli church.
The Socièta Funicolare degli Angioli (FA)
created in 1910 built the funicular which started
in 1913 to link the Lugano lake to the big hotels.
At the bottom of the funicular there is no station,
the tracks are following a big stair, at the top
a 30m bridge passes over the Via Giuseppe Motta
and arrives directly at the third floor a tower
which is the upper station. An aerial foot-bridge
links the station to the Bristol hotel. The tower
contains a vertical counterweight which helps
the electrical engine.
The
line is a one way track, no siding, only one blue
cabin(still the same since the origin) with 4
compartments for a maximum of 26 passengers.
The 1st January 1973, the owner (Mrs. Ilda e Biancamaria
Ferrazzini) gave the funicular for nothing to
the City of Lugano. In 1981 the Bristol hotel
was closed and the Socièta Funicolare degli
Angioli (FA) disappeared.
Number
of passengers:
1974-78: 60000 passengers / year
1980: 89956
1982: 47305
1983: 42567
1984: 22286
In
1986, the service was reduced to 8 hours per days,
between 17 April to 5 October and in the 4th December
1986, the City of Lugano decided to suspend the
exploitation in 1987 to think to a new financial
and technical solution to the Funicolare Angioli.
There was a project to replace it with an electrical
stair.
Today,
the funicular is still at the same state!
|