I was attached to the AIS Unit of the Space Applications Institute
at JRC Ispra in Italy. Just south of the Alps; about an hour north of Milan.I was attached to the AIS Unit of the Space Applications Institute
at JRC Ispra in Italy. Just south of the Alps; about an hour north of Milan.
The site is to the east of the little town of Ispra which is on the south-east shore of Lago Maggiore, south of Laveno. The JRC site is between Ispra (the dark area near the centre of the satellite image) and Cadrezzate, on the much-smaller Lago di Monate (on the middle right).
Lago Maggiore is a glacial lake (alt. 193m), extending north into Switzerland. In the image, Lago Maggiore is the long, dark lake. The small bright blue lake is Lago di Varese (false colour), below it and to the left is Lago di Monate (with Lago di Comabbio below it). Within 10 km of the JRC site is Campo dei Fiori, a "hill" of 1228m north of Varese (the town on Lago Varese) which is just visible as a dark top at the top-right border of the image.
The JRC site is in a notionally idyllic setting which unfortunately can only be seen from the air on a
rare clear day. The photograph shows Monte Rosa in the distance. The best diagrammatic map of the area shows the town of Ispra and all major
transport routes. However it doesn't show the JRC. Instructions on how to get to the JRC are provided by one of Units of the JRC but it doesn't list the
pitfalls for the unwary; which are in the FAQ.
Ispra itself is small but has some interesting history and a fine belvedere (viewpoint over the lake) unfortunately largely ruined by 20 years growth of chestnut trees. The view from the lakeshore is not unpleasant.
The JRC site is labelled "Euratom" on this map fragment (the map omits the 30-year old Ispra bypass). For anyone really interested, there is also a larger copy of this map (511k).
The JRC as an institution sometimes appears in the press.
Although the JRC hosts a number of very large websites, there is surprisingly little (i.e. none) on the web about the site itself.
Varese-Online is a local civic (not just tourist) website produced by the local ISP. There are official websites for the Comune di Varese and Provicia di Varese. I have now been able to find good diagram-map of the province around Varese, and maps of Varese city. There is a page of photos of the Campo dei Fiori and Lago Maggiori from the air..
I have found a todays weather report, satellite images from the Pre-Alpine Geophysical Centre who have an observatory on the Campo dei Fiore and a Web-Cam real-time picture of Varese. More regular weather forcasts come from Ticino in Switzerland.
Sounds nice, but the "Rough Guide" to Italy says "In general there is little of great interest on the eastern side of Lake Maggiore... The Varesotto is the least attractive but richest of the lake provinces - a major industrial reagion producing everything from shoes and silk to helicopters. Its three small lakes are badly polluted, and, lying blandly on the plain, cannot compete with nearby Lake Como or Maggiore for scenic splendour. The provincial capital Varese is worthy of a place on your itinerary only if you have to make train or bus connections..."
Here are direct links to maps on Italian websites: large-scale map of Ispra locality (511kB), and a sketch-map.
