A weekend in Franciacorta, in the company of the fish of Lake Iseo: a trip to Clusane - Part I.

The land where France is short

The blue and silent mirror of the lake on one side and the green of vineyards as far as the eye can see on the other: this is the serene yet lively landscape that welcomes us on our arrival in northern Franciacorta, characterised by a timeless charm that is certainly no accident. In fact, even the travellers of a couple of millennia ago, if they stopped around here, could admire a landscape in some ways similar: their gaze too scanned the surface of Lake Iseo, spotting water birds, and if they ventured into the green of the territory that extends beyond the southern shore of the lake, they already found the vineyards and probably also someone willing to offer them a glass of good wine.

The cultivation of the vine on the hills of Franciacorta has very ancient origins; it dates back to the Cenomani Gauls, the Romans and the Lombards, as shown by the finds of prehistoric grape seeds, but also by the testimonies of classical authors such as Pliny or Virgil. There are also numerous hypotheses regarding the etymology of the place name Franciacorta, some of them quite fanciful, such as "a curt de franc", to indicate the poor condition of the inhabitants, or the saying "Qui la Francia sarà corta" ("Here France will be short"), on the occasion of the brief stay of the French in the area, which ended in 1265 with the popular rebellion against the troops of Charles of Anjou, king of France.

The most plausible of the explanations, however, is the one that indicates Franciacorta as "curtes francae", that is, small communities of Benedictine monks free of taxes, who enjoyed exemption from taxes in exchange for reclaiming and working the land entrusted to them.

Hostel del Gal, where ancient and modern get along

Our home for this weekend on the shore of Lake Iseo is the Hostel del Gal, the bed and breakfast connected to the Antica Trattoria del Gallo, located in the same courtyard, which also offers the convenience of a large car park. The B&B property is the result of the careful restoration of an old hayloft dating from the early twentieth century and welcomes us with its warm rustic atmosphere due to the ancient walls with exposed stone, a style that creates a perfect blend with the modern furnishings. The four apartments, of which one two-room, two large studios and a spacious room, are all equipped with every comfort, including a kitchen with induction hobs, air conditioning and free wi-fi.

At the home of the tench: a walk in Clusane

After settling into our apartments, we set off to discover Clusane, starting with the lake. A blue surface that appears painted with the soft brushstrokes of a painter of other times, the lake furrowed by wild ducks that seem to know by heart each of the wooden rowing boats of the small harbour, white swans that sometimes come out of the water and make friends with the little dogs brought for a walk on the lakeside. A colourful multitude of moored boats among the white and blue poles of the pier, between which the image of the ancient village is composed, dominated on one side by the bell tower of the old church and on the other by the surrounding mountains.

This is how the beautiful village of Clusane presents itself, a hamlet of Iseo since 1927, one of those localities where the past as a fishing village coexists harmoniously with the present with a clear tourist vocation in a context of tranquillity and poetry. The fish-rich lake and the gentle surrounding landscape had fascinated man since the dawn of history. Clusane, whose place name probably derives from Clodius or from Chiusa, is one of the oldest settlements on the lake, once inhabited by pile-dwelling communities. From the presence of the Romans many finds have come down to us, some of them present on site, others kept in various museums. In a sense, the "masters" of this village have always been the fish: the pike, the perch, the crayfish, but above all the queen of the lake, namely the tench.

In the Lombard age, precisely in this stretch of the lake, were the fishing reserves of the monastery of Santa Giulia of Brescia. Later, also the Benedictine monks of Cluny, to whom the chapel dedicated to Saints Gervasio and Protasio was donated, and who devoted themselves to reclaiming the marshy lands, appreciated the lake's fish gifts. The actual village formed around the priory founded by the monks, who gathered peasants and fishermen around the monastery. During our walk we discover several places of the ancient castrum, such as the stone arch on via della Chiesa vecchia, the gate with counter-gate on via Molino and remains of Roman-era arches, as well as the bases of medieval houses. There were also two mills, but above all there was, and still is, a fine castle that rises on the promontory west of the old village.

Called the castle of Carmagnola (after the condottiere Francesco di Bussone who was its lord for four years until 1432), the fortress was built in the fourteenth century and changed owner many times. Today the imposing building is a palace-castle, used as a noble residence since the Renaissance, but still equipped with its original fortress features such as the deep defensive moat with characteristic stone arch bridges.

Antica Trattoria del Gallo, the pleasure of the lake's flavours

The transition from fishing village to tourist resort had begun towards the end of the nineteenth century, with the birth of taverns and restaurants run by the fishermen's families. Our day in Clusane continues at one of the historic trattorias of the village, among the first to have started preparing dishes based on fish caught in the lake. The Antica Trattoria del Gallo, founded at the beginning of the twentieth century, was born as a coaching inn on the road connecting Brescia and Bergamo, and offered refreshment to travellers and their horses. Today our "horse", that is the car, rests peacefully in the large courtyard while, after freshening up at our apartment at the Hostel del Gal, we cross the courtyard to spend a lovely evening at the table.

Welcoming us with great kindness in the characteristic rooms of the trattoria are Mr Abele and Giulio Vitali, the brothers who run the place together with Mrs Piera, Giulio's wife, and Gabriele, Abele's son. "Our family took over the management in 1978, giving new life to the trattoria under the guidance of grandmother Isabella, my mother," Mr Abele recalls the past.