Lake Maggiore’s Isole Borromee
This trio of islets — Isola Bella (“Beautiful Island”), Isola Madre (“Mother Island”) and Isola Superiore, or Isola dei Pescatori (“Isle of the Fishermen”) – has been shaped by the Borromeo family, who in the 16th and 17th centuries turned Bella and Madre into vast garden-and-palace complexes. If you’ve time only for one, make it Isola Bella, though its ornate, formal gardens are less relaxing and botanically interesting than Isola Madre’s.
Access is from the ferry docks at Stresa • www.borromeoturismo.it
Isola Bella • 0323 30 556 • 22 Mar–26 Oct: 9am–5:30pm (Oct until 5pm) daily • adm €13, under-16s €5.50
Isola Madre • 0323 31 261 • 22 Mar–26 Oct: 9am–5:30pm (Oct until 5pm) daily • adm €11, under-16s €5.50
1. Isola Bella: Borromeo Palace
The vast Borromeo Palace and its grounds dominate the island. The palace is largely 17th century, but wasn’t finished until 1959. The sumptuous rooms have stucco ceilings and are filled with inlaid dressers, Murano chandeliers and fine paintings.
2. Isola Bella: Grottoes
Artificial caves were all the rage in the 18th century. They were decorated with a sort of grand, intricate pebble-dash in black-and-white patterns.
3. Isola Bella: Sala di Musica in the Palace
The palace’s most important room is named for its collection of antique instruments. On 11 April 1935, Mussolini met here with Laval of France and Ramsay MacDonald of Britain in an attempt to stave off World War II.
4. Isola Bella: Tapestries in the Palace
This detail-rich series of 16th-century Flemish works is based on that popular theme for medieval tapestries: the unicorn (which is also a Borromeo heraldic totem).
5. Isola Bella: Borromeo Tombs
The “Private Chapel” was built in 1842–4 as a mausoleum for a pair of late Gothic/early Renaissance 15th-century family tombs as well as the 1522 Monument to the Birago Brothers, carved by Renaissance master Bambaia.
6. Isola Bella: Gardens
This pyramid of terraces is topped by a unicorn, the edges lined by statue-laden balustrades. A few pairs of white peacocks strut over the clipped lawns.
7. Isola Madre: Villa Borromeo
This summer villa was built largely between 1518 and 1585. Today it is a museum with mannequins in Borromeo livery and paraphernalia from puppet theatres.
8. Isola Madre: Botanical Gardens
The surprisingly lush and extensive gardens around the Villa Borromeo are filled with exotic flora. Take the time to walk around the island, past the azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias famous since the 19th century.
9. Isola Madre: Kashmir Cypress
Europe’s largest cypress spreads its 200-year-old, weeping Oriental strands of needles over a gravel courtyard to one side of the Villa Borromeo.
10. Isola Superiore
The Borromei pretty much left this island (also known as Isola dei Pescatori,) alone when they were converting its neighbours into sumptuous garden-palaces, allowing the island’s fishing hamlet to develop more naturally into a tourist draw today.
The Borromeo Family
The Borromeo clan fled political intrigue in Tuscany for Milan in 1395, where they bankrolled the rise of the Visconti. Building a pan-European financial empire, they bought the Arona fiefdom in 1447 They skilfully tacked through the era’s turbulent political winds, married wisely, and associated with the Sforza while slowly acquiring control of Lake Maggiore. The family still owns the islands.
Tip: Buy discounted island admission tickets along with your ferry ticket at the Stresa docks. Tip: Isola Bella’s gardens remain open all day, but access is via the Palazzo so you can’t enter between noon and 1:30pm. Tip: There are many cafés on Isola Bella’s quay. Café Lago serves sandwiches, coffee and lager to a backdrop of rock music.
