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

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

company operating passenger services on

Lake Lugano Lake Lugano ( or , from ; ) 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 between Lake Como and Lago Maggiore. It was cited for the first t ...

. 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, to the east of the outfall of the Cassarate River, in the Swiss canton of Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the C ...

in the city of

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

. 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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

Gandria Gandria is both a Quarter (country subdivision), quarter of the city of Lugano in the Switzerland, Swiss Ticino, 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 ...

and

Campione d'Italia Campione d'Italia (; ) is a (municipality) of the Province of Como in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy. Located on the shores of Lake Lugano, it is an enclave surrounded by the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Ticino. At its closest, the encla ...

, 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, on

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, to Luino, on

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided be ...

, 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 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. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s, between Porlezza and

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa () is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte T ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

s and three screw steamers, together with two cargo

motor vessel A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship Marine propulsion, propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often Ship prefix, prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were develo ...

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 Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. 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 dialect, Varesino: ''Pòrt Cerési'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Varese in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northeast of Varese, on the b ...

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

History

Fleet

Routes

See also

References

External links