Less than an hour away from St. Moritz you will find Alpine splendor near the border of Italy.

Here in such villages as Silvaplana, Stampa and Bondo you will find beauty, culture and calm.

You may be so enchanted that you'll want to spend the night.

Silvaplana, Switzerland is so picturesque. The surrounding Alps are over 3000 meters high.

I spent the night at the Pontisella B&B (www.pontisella.ch), an unassuming address in Stampa, which is the birthplace of sculptor Albert Giacometti.

Pontisella (mapped to this card) is fully booked all the time and I could finally get in for one night. The wood panels smelt of the Alps.

Pontisella’s boutique had all the natural honey, herbal teas, salts and lotions from nearby Soglio.

Pontisella’s owner Daniel Erbe collects furniture and art.

The B&B also provides a hearty breakfast buffet with lovely breads, jams and specialities from the region.

Moreover, Pontisella has a photo exhibition during the Biennale Begraglia as well as concert.

And to round out your fantastic Engadine day spent, the Pontisella offers lunch (26chf) or dinner with local white wine (50chf).

Try the chestnut ravioli with goat cheese and arugula topped with sage.

While in Stampa, Giacommetti spent a lot of time at Castelmur, a folly in this Alpine surrounding.

The La Stala Bistro d'Arte is the only place to eat in Coltura, Stampa - and it's very good.

I ordered a tomato mozzarella salad with pesto.

And the ravioli sprinkled with air dried beef (a speciality in this region) just gave it that extra umpf.

We are already in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Half an hour by a windy road to Italy.

An art installation was staged here in Bondo as part of the third annual Biennale Bregaglia art exhibit (www. Biennalebregaglia.com). Inside this structure were hanging textile prints by Georg Gatsas.

With the Alps in the background, the windy River Maira brings the landscape down to sea level when you reach Italy.

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Alice Lonfat-Chu