There are several reasons to go to Stresa. It’s a beautiful little town in northern Italy on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. Many boats depart from Stresa each day, ferrying tourists to the Borromean islands in the lake, which are variously covered in gardens, restaurants and increasingly improbable architecture. It’s home to a surprisingly large number of abandoned and overgrown mansions, each begging to be explored. There’s also a model show.
The first part of this list is how I convinced my now-wife to go to Stresa for the World Expo back in 2014. While we were there, we took a trip up Mottarone, the local mountain, via the gondola. Near the summit, I proposed via a ridiculous book about a duck. We came back to Stresa while on our honeymoon and intended to return again for our fifth wedding anniversary. Sadly, that fell during COVID.
It didn’t take much convincing, then, to get my wife to join me on a trip back to Stresa for the Verbano Model Show celebrating the tenth anniversary of the World Expo, especially as I wanted to spend much more time in Stresa than just the model show.
It’s worth noting that this show, while celebrating the World Expo in Stresa, wasn’t on the same scale. That said, it was a respectably large show, with around 2,000 models in the competition. Given it was using the same exhibition hall as the World Expo, this made it quite accessible and spacious, which is quite rare at model shows. Normally we’re all crammed into tiny spaces and struggle to have the opportunity to look at everything.
Like the other Italian shows I’ve been to, the Verbano Model Show uses the weird ordnance vs figure distinction, but based on the models that were entered in the science fiction category (ordnance), I can only hope organisers will soon realise that it’s a meaningless distinction to modern painters. The judges certainly didn’t seem to mind as I don’t believe anything actually moved and some figures in the category were definitely awarded golds.
Unlike the other Italian shows I’ve been to, I had the opportunity to enjoy Stresa. The Ely crew and associated partners spent much of the time hanging out in cafes and walking along the lakefront, generally having a pleasant time. Lunches at shows are often quite limited – at SMC, for instance, I usually end up having a strange potato object in bun with some mustard. It’s about the most interesting thing on offer at the venue, and there’s nowhere relatively close to act as an alternative. At Monte, it can be difficult to get into places for lunch without reservations, or I take the risk that the takeaway pizza place will again try to murder me. Stresa, meanwhile, has no shortage of options, which also means there are plenty of options for show beers.
Meanwhile, back at the show, I found the fantasy and sci-fi categories refreshingly creative. Unlike a lot of shows, there didn’t seem to be the same density of Games Workshop models – or even really gaming pieces in significant numbers. Beyond that, the open categories had some really creative pieces and some incredibly ambitious pieces. In particular, what looked like a 3D-printed top-down view of an 8-bit game map, which I thought was a really interesting perspective on a model and gave me plenty of ideas; and there was a truly ridiculous slab of resin water with a couple of mech suits descending an underwater crevasse. The balls it must have taken to pour all that resin. Damn.
In the historical sections, there was pretty much exactly what I expected from an Italian show. There’s a small set of painting styles that seem to dominate in Italy, and this is compounded by the fact that there are repeated topics. For instance, mid-20th century motorbikes are weirdly popular, as are Native Americans. Of course, there’s also the usual smattering of Nazis and Confederates (for some reason always painted by the same people, who definitely aren’t crypto-fascists, no sir), Romans and other figures from Italian history as you’d expect, a few Napoleonics and all that jazz, but there’s a clear interest in these motorbikes and Native Americans. If anyone has any insight as to why these are so popular, I’m intrigued.
Overall, the show is pretty much what you expect from shows in Italy. The prizes were extremely generous (from what we could see, nearly everything won a medal), which does dilute your sense of achievement a touch. In the end, the Ely crew took a bunch of medals home. They’re quite nice. I also won a special prize from the Belgioioso Mini Art show, which looks like a particularly interesting show that I’ll have to find the time to attend – maybe in a year or two if my show calendar calms down a bit!
Tips for Stresa:
- Don’t go on the gondola, even if it reopens. Aside from being afraid that the same people are in charge, it might be a bit ghoulish.
- Do the islands on a day that isn’t a public holiday. They’ll be busy, but they (probably) won’t be obscenely busy like they are if you mistakenly go on Mother’s Day. Who knew the French and Italians loved their mothers so much?
- Take the opportunity to explore some of the other towns nearby. Verbania is very nice and quiet, with a really lovely botanic garden designed by a Scotsman.
- According to Martin, avoid the restaurant that used to have a Michelin star. According to me, avoid the restaurant that looks like god’s waiting room and smells of cabbage – it’s not Pillars in Cardiff, but it’s in the same genre.
- There’s one cafe on the square that doesn’t serve coffee or lemon soda. Madness.
- If you can, stay at Hotel Elena. It’s the cheapest in town – and looks it – but you get a balcony with a view over the square.
Fet Paints 