Hermann Hesse lived in Montagnola, near Lugano, from 1919 until his death. It is true that in Ticino, especially on the Collina d’Oro, he found his authentic homeland.
It is in Ticino where he loved the climate, the landscapes, the nature and above all the people.
Ernst Fuchs from Wengen, in the Bernese Oberland, apart from being a refined bookseller was also an antiquarian and a passionate bibliophile.
In 1935, he took over the WEGA Library in the historical center of Lugano where he was already the director since several years before.
Mr. Fuchs, began to establish cordial relations with the writers and the artists residing or passing through Lugano including, in fact, the Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse, a frequent client and friend of the WEGA Bookshop.
It is said that Mr. Fuchs and Mr. Hesse would have built a strong relationship for years, they might have been drinking tea, talking about daily events or simply about the weather but above all discussed extensively about the differences in the quality of fountain pens and inks of that time that were on sale at the WEGA bookshop and that the great writer should have tested and comparing their features.
