The ''Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano'' or Lake Lugano Navigation Company (SNL) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

company operating passenger services on

Lake Lugano __NOTOC__ Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...

. The company also operates bus routes in the same area, and is based at

Cassarate Cassarate is a village on the northern shore of Lake Lugano __NOTOC__ Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern ...

in the city of

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

. It was formerly known as the ''Società di Navigazione e Ferrovie per lago di Lugano'' and at one time also operated railways in the area. The passenger boats of the SNL principally provide services for tourist purposes, but they also connect Lugano with other lake-side communities, in both Switzerland and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, some of which have no road access. The bus services connect Lugano with

Gandria Gandria is both a quarter of the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino, and a village on the northern shore of Lake Lugano, which forms the core of that quarter. Until 2004, the quarter of Gandria was an independent municipality, joining wi ...

and

Campione d'Italia Campione d'Italia ( Comasco: , ) is a ''comune'' of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy and an enclave surrounded by the Swiss canton of Ticino (it is also an exclave). At its closest, the enclave is less than from the rest of ...

, both of which are also served by boat services. SNL is a member of the arcobaleno tariff network, but only accepts arcobaleno tickets on its bus services and not on boat services. It also grants a 40% discount on all its fares to holders of arcobaleno season tickets.

History

The ''Società di Navigazione e Ferrovie per lago di Lugano'' (SNF) was formed in 1873 to construct and operate a transport link from

Menaggio Menaggio ( lmo, label=Comasco, Menas ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy, located on the western shore of Lake Como at the mouth of the river Senagra. Menaggio has three ''frazioni'' (parishes): Croce, Lov ...

, on

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, to

Luino Luino (Western Lombard: ''Lüin'') is a small town and ''comune'' near the border with Switzerland on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the Province of Varese (Lombardy, northern Italy). Luino received the honorary title of city with a presid ...

, on

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

, via Lugano. Although both ends of this link were in Italy, the company was created with Swiss finance, and registered in Lugano. Previous plans were to build a railway throughout, but difficulties in financing the proposal and the substantial engineering works that would be required, led to the revised plan which was eventually implemented. This involved the construction of two unconnected railways, both entirely located within Italy. The

Menaggio–Porlezza railway The Menaggio–Porlezza railway ( it, Ferrovia Menaggio-Porlezza) was a railway in the Italian province of Como. The line connected the town of Menaggio, on Lake Como, with Porlezza, on Lake Lugano, and was built as part of a multi-modal transpor ...

and the were linked by the use of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s, between

Porlezza 240px, Interiori of the church of San Vittore. Porlezza is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about north of Como. Porlezza borders the following m ...

and

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa ( Lombard: ''Punt da Tresa'') is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte Tresa and Sessa merged to form Tresa. Histo ...

on Lake Lugano, to form the desired through route. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

lead to a considerable loss of traffic and financial problems, and the SNF decided to sell its railways and concentrate on operating its steamboat services on Lake Lugano. The lines were sold to the Società Varesina per le Imprese Elettriche (SVIE) in 1919. After the sale, the company changed its name to the ''Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano''. By 1926, the company was operating nine passenger steamboats on Lake Lugano, including six

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

s and three

screw steamer A screw steamer or screw steamship is an old term for a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine, using one or more propellers (also known as ''screws'') to propel it through the water. Such a ship was also known as an "iron screw steam shi ...

s, together with two cargo

motor vessel A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

s. In 1927, the passenger motor vessel ''Lugano'' was introduced, and this vessel is still in service, having been renamed ''Milano'' in 1961. The last paddle steamers in the fleet were retired in 1962. In 1908, the shipping company ''Vedetta SA'' was formed by a group of Lugano hoteliers. They ordered five steel-hulled launches from Theodore Hitzler of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. The boats served various locations around Lugano bay. The company was merged into the SNL in 1944, and their earliest vessel, the ''Vedetta'', is still owned by the SNL.

Fleet

The SNL operates a fleet of 11

s of various ages and sizes: The company also operates a fleet of buses used on its bus services. The ''Ticino'', a near sister ship to the ''Lugano'' and ''Italia'', now serves as the Lord Nelson Pub, permanently moored on the lake in

Porto Ceresio Porto Ceresio ( Varesino: ''Pòrt Cerési'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northeast of Varese, on the border with Switzerlan ...

Routes

The SNL operates several routes, both bus and boat. The following places are served, listed here in clockwise order around the lake shore from Lugano: Not all services serve all stops, nor are they necessarily served in the order presented above. SNV Shipyard 01

References

External links

*
Official Website of the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Societa Navigazione del Lago di Lugano Bus companies of Italy Bus companies of Switzerland Lake Lugano Shipping companies of Italy Shipping companies of Switzerland Transport in Lugano Transport in Lombardy Transport in Ticino