On Saturday  May 2nd, 2009  we started our activations from Piona Abbey  not far form  Colico (LC), first reference for “Regio Insubrica Award” (I-001), also valid for D.A.I.  LB-0248 and  D.L.I. I2-099 (Piona Lake). All  of us appreciated a lot  this first moment of aggregation and also some families of ours took part to the event, just like the spirit we would have liked. We made only 136 QSO, because of a bad propagation; unfortunately some OMs from the north part of Italy was not able to contact us! We gave to  Father Giuseppe Sergio IK2OVG and Father Carlo SWL I-0156 the parchment of Members ad Honorem of Insubria Radio Club. They took part to the activations:

• Cesare IK2SFM
• Pericle IK2UIZ
• Paolo IK2ULB
• Galdino IW2DYG
• Guido IW2GBZ
• Luciano IW2LFD
• Giovanni IZ2DPX
• Emanuela IZ2ELV
• Fulvio IZ2EXA
• Roberto IZ2FOB

Allo of us must say a big “Thanks!” to Galdino IW2DYG for his impeccable organization and for cooking a tasty mixed grill!

PIONA ABBEY

It’s located at the bottom of   Legnone and  Legnoncino mountains, in the peninsula of Olgiasca, between the north part of Como lake and Piona lake. 

In this mystic place there is the evidences  of passages of Ligurians, Celtics, Etruscans, Romans, people from Gallia, Insubria and Como, due to the ancient cippus, where it’s written about the Bishop Agrippino from Como (607-617), who erected in the 10th year of his mandate an oratory to the martyr Saint Giustina. 

This fact reveals that in that time in this area there was a monastic community, probably by heremits. The  little apse neat the churc dedicated to Blessed Virgin Maria and Saint Nicola from Bari (consecrated in 1138) is the rest of  the oratory to the martyr Saint Giustina, and very close to the church there is the monastery. Not far from the church, there is a wonderful path of olive trees, which  leads to the Lourdes’ grotto, destination of several pilgrimages. 

The  Circencensi Monks, tanks to their knowledge about medicinal herbs, produce cosmetic creams, honey and  liqueurs, which are distilled in the Abbey, according to ancient and traditional prescriptions, and the Monks sell these products in a little shop, located in the Abbey.

Insubria Radio Team