I brought my own lunch to Alessi, so when our bus stopped in Omegna for lunch, I took the opportunity to explore this small lake town.
First, I did the obvious thing; I walked along the waterfront until the buildings turned to residential homes. The vibes were similar to Como, and after sitting on the water for a few minutes, I turned around to see what was further in the city.
The streets were narrow and lined with shops from the north end of the lake. I peeked into the gelato shops as I walked past hoping to find blatant signage that read “vegan”, but I didn’t have any luck. I came to an old church with open doors, peeked inside, then ducked around the side where I could see a pedestrian way. It wrapped around to the back of the church and turned into a suspended walkway over a calm river of clear water.
When the suspended walkway ended on land, I followed the fork toward an iron gate and discovered a park called Parco Della Fantasia. Some kids were playing on a small zipline, there were brutalist planters over 10 feet tall, and an large eclectic building. The building held Omegna’s Museum of Art and Industry. On one side of the building, I was able to pay 2 Euros and then walk to the other to enter the museum.
The museum was empty (I was literally the only person — there wasn’t even anyone to check my ticket) and I walked through the permanent collection of designed object which were manufactured in the area. One room was full of coffee makers, toasters, and other industrial goods with googly eyes tacked on. The second floor was dedicated to manufacturing processes and I was able to see how moka pots are forged and how table-ware is formed.
