Lake Maggiore Attractions Lago Maggiore
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Top Tourist Attractions in Lake Maggiore
Regions: Lombardia and PiedmonteSituationLake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore), known to the Romans as Lacus Verbanus, lies in north Italy; the northern part of the lake, with the town of Locarno, is in Switzerland.
Verbania, Italy
On the west side of Lake Maggiore, beautifully situated near the Borromean Islands, lies Verbania (205m/677ft; pop. 32,000), a town formed by the amalgamation of Pallanza and Intra together with other adjoining villages. It attracts large numbers of visitors with its mild climate and beautiful scenery.Verbania is also home to the Landscape Museum, which is located in the 16th - 17th century Viani Dugnani Palace. Its halls contain a pictorial section with paintings from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
Pallanza
The district of Pallanza lies on both sides of the Punta della Castagnola (magnificent view from the park of the former Eden Palace Hotel). Just offshore, to the west, is the little island of San Giovanni. On the lakeside road is the Kursaal with its park (fine views). Beyond this, by the lake, is the mausoleum of General Cadorna (1850-1928), commander-in-chief of the Italian army during the First World War. To the north stands the parish church of San Leonardo (16th century restored). Farther west are the Palazzo di Città (Town Hall) and the landing-stage, from which there are good views of the Borromean Islands (with Isola Madre in the foreground) and Monte Mottarone.
Madonna di Campagna
At the foot of Monte Rosso (693m/2,287ft), the domed church of the Madonna di Campagna, contains frescoes by Lanino and the Procaccini.
Park of the Villa Taranto
On a hill 1km/0.75mi north of the Punta della Castagnola is the park of the Villa San Remigio (no admission) and nearby is the little Romanesque church of San Remigio (11th century). Immediately north is the magnificent park of the Villa Taranto, laid out after the Second World War, (open: April-October, good guide book, with plan; boat landing-stage), with botanical research laboratories and numerous rare and exotic plants.
Intra
Northeast of Pallanza, between the Torrente San Bernardino and the Torrente San Giovanni, is the industrial district of Intra, with the fine church of San Vittore. From here there is a car ferry across the lake to Laveno.
Premeno, Italy
From Intra a panoramic road runs 13km/8mi north to the village of Premeno (840m/2,772ft), a summer holiday resort.
Monte Zeda
North of Intra rises Monte Zeda (2,157m/7,118ft; extensive views), which can be climbed in seven hours.
Cannero Riviera, Italy
About 13km/8mi northeast of Intra Cannero Riviera (226m/746ft) is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Maggiore amid orchards and olive-groves. The climate here is the mildest on the lake, and lemon and orange trees can survive the winter in the open. There is also a beautiful beach.
Castelli di Cannero
North of Cannero Riviera, on rocky islets in the lake, are the ruins of the two Castelli di Cannero, built by Lodovico Borromeo in 1519 in place of earlier castles which had been held by brigands.
Cannobio, Italy
7km/4.5mi north of Cannero - on the west bank of Lake Maggiore - on a plateau at the mouth of the wide, cool Valle Cannobina, the old town of Cannobio (214m/706ft) has picturesque narrow streets. Notable are the Palazzo della Ragione (1291) and near the landing-stage the Santuario della Pietà, a Renaissance church in the manner of Bramante (on the high altar "Christ bearing the Cross" by Gaudenzio Ferrari, c. 1525).
Stresa, Italy
On the west side of Lake Maggiore, south of its western arm, the little town of Stresa (210m/693ft; pop. 5,000) looks on to the Borromean Islands. Stresa is the largest resort on Lake Maggiore after Locarno. Cooler and windier than other places on the lake, it is busiest during the warmer part of the year. The long lakeside road affords beautiful views of the lake and the Borromean Islands. The life of Stresa centers on its lakeside promenade (fine views), on which are the parish church and most of the large hotels.
Villa Pallavicino
In Stresa you will find the Zoological Park of Villa Pallavicino abounding in century old trees and animated by numerous animal species roaming free.
Park of the Villa Pallavicino
About 1km/0.75 mi south of Stresa, above the landing-place, is the Collegio Rosmini (267m/881ft), an educational institution run by the Rosminians; in the church is the tomb of the priest and philosopher A. Rosmini (1797-1855). 500m/550yd farther on is the beautiful park of the Villa Pallavicino (closed in winter), with luxuriant vegetation and an interesting menagerie.
Monte Mottarone
From Stresa a toll road, the Borromea (about 30km/19mi; also a cableway), runs up via Gignese (707m/2,333ft), with an unusual Umbrella Museum, to the summit of Monte Mottarone (1,491m/4,920ft), from which the view embraces the chain of the Alps from Monte Viso to Ortles, with Monte Rosa to the west (particularly fine in the morning).
Giardino Alpinia
Half-way up the Borromea, at the hamlet of Alpino (768m/2,534ft), a road branches off to the Giardino Alpinia (807m/2,663ft), 500m/550yd north, with some 2,000 species of plants (magnificent views).
Borromean Islands (Isola Bella)
From Stresa there is a very attractive boat trip to the Borromean Islands. The boat calls first at Isola Bella which owes its present appearance to Count Vitaliano Borromeo, who between 1650 and 1671 transformed what had been a barren rock, with a parish church and a few houses, by building up terraces of fertile soil and creating a splendid summer residence. The palace, left unfinished, contains magnificent state apartments, numerous pictures (including some good Lombard works of the 16th and 17th centuries) and a gallery of 17th century Flemish tapestries. The Italian-style garden (beautiful views), rises in ten terraces to a height of 32m/106ft and is covered with luxuriant southern vegetation - lemon and orange trees, cherry-laurels, cedars, magnolias, cork-oaks, sago-palms, carob-trees, camellias, oleanders, etc.
Isola dei Pescatori, Italy
About 500m/550yd northwest of Isola Bella is the Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore, with a picturesque fishing village.
Isola Madre
Between the Isola dei Pescatori and Pallanza lies Isola Madre, which, like Isola Bella, belongs to the Borromeo family. It has beautiful English-style grounds surpassing even Isola Bella in the variety and luxuriance of their vegetation. On the highest point is an uninhabited palace (view).
Baveno, Italy
About 4km/2.5mi northwest of Stresa is Baveno (205m/677ft), a popular resort, with a fine parish church. From the lakeside promenade there is a picturesque view of the lake with the Borromean Islands. At the southern end of the town stands the large Villa Branca with a beautiful park (no admission).
San Carlone, Meina, Italy
About 13km/8mi south of Stresa is Meina (214m/706ft), with the splendid Villa Farragiana (museum). An eminence south of the village - between Meina and Arona - is crowned by the "San Carlone", a 23m/76ft high statue of St Charles Borromeo (1538-84), Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan, who played an important part in the moral revival of Catholicism.
Angera
On the east side of Lake Maggiore, opposite the statue, is Angera, with an old Visconti castle (view).
Domodossola, Italy
From Stresa or Verbania there is an attractive drive (42 or 45km/26 or 28mi) first along the Lago di Mergozzo, a former arm of Lake Maggiore which was cut off by soil deposited by the River Toce, then continuing up the valley of the Toce to Domodossola (272m/898ft; pop. 20,000), a little hill town, with a pretty marketplace and a notable collegiate church with three naves portal with 15th century frescoes).
Anzasca Valley (Macugnaga)
Half-way to Domodossola a road goes off, passes through Piedimulera and continues up the Anzasca valley (gold-mines), the upper part of which has been occupied since the 13th century by German-speaking settlers from the Valais, to Macugnaga (1,327m/4,379ft), a holiday resort in a magnificent situation below the east face of Monte Rosa.
Umbrella and Parasol Museum, Gignese, Italy
The town of Gignese is home to the Umbrella and Parasol Museum. There you will find a rare collection of umbrellas and parasols dating back to the 18th century, as well as the tools used by umbrella makers.
