Domodossola is a small city in the Piedmont region, at the foot of the Italian Alps. Sandwiched between two tongues of mountainous Swiss territory - the cantons of Valais and Ticino - Domodossola's railway station offers a glimpse of Italy for travellers aboard Swiss trains running through the Simplon Pass between German-speaking Brig and Italian-speaking Locarno.

In the latter stages of the Second World War the Val d'Ossola, the Ossola Valley, declared itself a free partisan republic and broke away from Fascist Italy. A charismatic 22-year-old Australian named Johnny Peck, an escaped POW, had built a reputation as guerilla fighter and organiser, and was handed a lead role in this doomed but highly symbolic rebellion against the occupiers. Predictably, the uprising was crushed by German troops within two months, but became an inspiration for anti-fascist movements across Italy.

Having stumbled across this little-known story, I was inspired to take a short detour from our stay in the Valais Alps of southern Switzerland to visit the scene of the daredevil exploits of my fellow Australian. Not surprisingly the short-lived republic is well-remembered in Domodossola - which is a very pleasant place to spend a night or two.