It also includes the slopes on the opposite, (southern) side of the lake around the small settlement of Cantine di Gandria, that are accessible only by boat or on foot.

[3] A large stone (Sasso della Predescia) carved with mysterious signs, probably used for Celtic religious purposes, is located within hiking distance.

In recent years, olive trees have been replanted and information panels posted along a scenic lakeside trail to Lugano (Sentiero dell’olivo).

Since Gandria became a part of Lugano, needed infrastructure projects have been carried out, including a sewage treatment plant that went on line in August 2010.

Behind the altar of the church is a large oil painting by Giovanni and Giuseppe Torricelli that shows the martyrdom of Saint Vigilio, a bishop of Trento in Italy, who was stoned to death by pagan shepherds.

The Torricelli brothers also painted scenes in the house of local architect Vigilio Rabaglio, who achieved fame by designing the Bourbon royal palace in Segovia in Spain.

An archeological guide to the area notes that stones with Celtic bowl-shaped indentations, carried there by villagers in past centuries, can be seen in the walls and on doorsteps around the Church of San Vigilio.

Others have arrived from various cantons of Switzerland as well as countries as diverse as Colombia, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Nicaragua, Palestine and the United States.

[14] Most people work in the nearby financial center of Lugano, although there is a tradition of architects, musicians, painters, ceramic makers and other artists in the village.

In addition to the higher level road, it is also possible to walk from Gandria to Lugano and other surrounding villages via the publicly maintained lakeside Olive Path hewn into the rock in 1936.

A boat service between Gandria and other towns on the lake is provided by the Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano (SNL) and is regular.