Bellinzona is a small city in a very big position. It stands where the Ticino valley opens into the Magadino plain, at the point where the roads from the San Gottardo and San Bernardino passes both come down from the Alps, and whoever held it controlled the way between Milan and the north. That is why three castles crown the rocky hills above the town, linked by a long wall that once barred the whole valley. Castelgrande, the oldest, stands on a rock in the centre, Montebello on a spur above, and Sasso Corbaro on a high hill farther back, and together they were listed by UNESCO in 2000 as outstanding examples of medieval fortification.
The fortresses were built mostly by the Visconti and Sforza dukes of Milan in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, although the site had been defended since Roman times. Swiss cantons took Bellinzona in 1500, and for three centuries the castles were seats of the bailiffs sent from Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden. Ticino became a canton of the Swiss Confederation only in 1803. You can walk along the walls and through the keeps, and the view from the battlements over the red roofs and the green valley, with snow on the high peaks, is wonderful.
The old town below has arcades, pastel facades and a Saturday market that fills the main square with vegetables, cheeses and cured meats. Food is Ticinese and decidedly Italian in flavour, with polenta, risotto, mushrooms, and a glass of Merlot, the red wine that grows well on the sunny slopes of the canton. The climate is milder than north of the Alps, and in spring camellias and magnolias flower early in the gardens.
The riding from Bellinzona is excellent. North, the road over the San Bernardino pass, at 2,065 metres, winds through green valleys and tunnels, while the Gotthard route heads for Airolo and Andermatt. East and south, lanes lead along the shores of Lake Maggiore and over the hills of the Ceneri to Lugano. Monte San Giorgio, near the Lake of Lugano, is another UNESCO site, famed for fossils of marine reptiles from the Triassic, some two hundred and forty million years old. Snow shuts the high passes for the winter months, yet the valley roads stay open all year.
Bellinzona has sixteen thousand residents, petrol stations, cafes and parking near the castle. In summer it is hot, and in the evening the castle walls are floodlit, with a lovely glow over the valley. A Swiss motorway vignette is required for the A2 and other motorways.