Swiss-Italian Lakes Travel Poster: Gotthard-Bahn, Laghi Maggiore, Como und Lugano by Gabriele Chiattone, 1892

Gotthard-Bahn, Laghi Maggiore, Como und Lugano by Gabriele Chiattone (1892) is a luminous Art Nouveau travel poster celebrating the Swiss–Italian lake district at the dawn of modern tourism. Published to promote the Gotthard Railway, it invites the viewer south through the Alps to the glittering waters of Lakes Lugano, Maggiore, and Como. In sweeping decorative style—floral borders, fluid lines, and elegant lettering—the composition captures the romance of cross-border travel when rail transformed Alpine journeys from feats of endurance into graceful adventures.

This listing is for a museum-quality fine art print, faithfully reproduced and available on your choice of acid-free archival paper or luxurious artist’s cotton canvas. Offered in a range of sizes, each print can be ordered unframed or expertly framed and ready to hang. The Unique Maps Co. also offers tasteful personalization—such as a dedication line, date, or commemorative caption—and customization options to suit your space or gifting needs.

About the artist: While detailed records are scarce, Gabriele Chiattone is known as a late 19th-century illustrator active in northern Italy and the Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland. Working at the height of the Art Nouveau era, Chiattone created refined promotional graphics for rail and resort destinations, using organic ornament and lyrical typography to elevate commercial posters into collectible works of decorative art. His style balanced the era’s curving botanical motifs with crisp, readable layouts—ideal for travel campaigns.

Why this subject matters: The Gotthard Railway was a marvel of its age, threading through the Alps to link German-speaking Switzerland with Ticino and onward to Italy. By the 1890s, rail made the lake district newly accessible to holidaymakers, who could step from panoramic carriages to promenades shaded by palms and camellias. This poster’s celebration of Lugano, Maggiore, and Como reflects that cultural crossroads—Swiss precision meeting Mediterranean light—and helped define the region’s image as a refined, international playground.

Design and color you’ll love: The palette shimmers with lake-blues and alpine greens, harmonized with warm, sunlit oranges and lively red accents that draw the eye to key details. Flowing, plant-inspired borders and sinuous silhouettes of mountains and shoreline evoke the natural rhythms of the landscape, while graceful lettering anchors the composition. A particularly charming period touch is the integration of practical travel information within the decorative framework—a hallmark of the era’s most sophisticated posters, where beauty and utility met on equal terms. The result is both historically resonant and strikingly contemporary on the wall.

Whether you cherish memories of cruising Lake Como, sipping espresso along Lake Lugano, or riding the legendary Gotthard line, this print makes a thoughtful, conversation-starting gift. Perfect for Christmas, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, a housewarming, or for anyone recently returned from Switzerland or northern Italy, it brings the timeless elegance of Belle Époque travel into today’s home.

If you're not sure what size to order, or you're looking for a custom order of some kind – a different size, a different colour, a special frame – then please contact me. I usually respond within a few minutes.

You can see an example of my fine art personalisation service in the fifth image. Zoom in and take a look. My personalised artwork is always very well received. Take a look at more examples of personalisation.

You can also choose to age your art print to make it look older. This is popular amongst my customers who want their artwork to look like an older, antique print. You can see an example of ageing in the sixth product image, or go ahead and check out lots of examples of other aged artwork.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

I can print and frame this beautiful piece of art at sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). If you are looking for a size or framing option that isn't available online, please get in touch.

This artwork is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. My standard frames come in six colours (black, dark brown, dark grey, antique gold, oak and white), and custom framing is available for an additional charge. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.