Lake Maggiore
The westernmost of Italy’s great lakes straddles the Lombardy-Piedmont border and pokes its head into Switzerland. The southern half was, from the 15th century, a fiefdom of the powerful Borromeo clan. Maggiore’s development as a holiday retreat for Europeans began in 1800 when Napoleon’s Simplon highway from Geneva to Milan skirted its shores. Maggiore has fewer resorts than Garda and is not as breathtakingly pretty as Como. While the triplet Borromean Islands are stunning, few of Maggiore’s other diversions can compare. Still, all this can play in Maggiore’s favour if you’re looking to avoid the over-development of Garda and the crowds of Como.
1. Arona
This sprawling modern town was once a stronghold of the Borromeo family, but its fortress was razed by Napoleon. The only lasting monument to the great family is a disconcertingly enormous 17th-century bronze statue of San Carlo Borromeo. Clamber up a ladder-like stair to the head of the 23-m (75-ft) colossus to peek out through his pupils at the 17th-century church below. The road leading to this shrine was meant to be lined with 15 devotional chapels, but only two were finished.
Tourist info • Piazzale Duca d’Aosta • 0322 243 601
2. Rocca di Angera
This medieval castle, a Borromeo fortress since 1449, preserves a hall of crude frescoes (1342–54), which count among the oldest surviving Lombard-Gothic works on a non-religious subject. Wooden staircases lead to the tower and lake views. Most of the rooms now house a Doll Museum, with its splendid collection of Japanese figures and 18th- and 19th-century European examples (for further details see also Rocca di Angera).Angera • 0331 931 300 • end Mar–Sep: 9:30am–5:30pm (Oct: to 5pm) daily • Adm
3. Stresa
The gateway to the Isole Borromee is a pretty lakeside town that offers hotels, a grid of trattoria-lined pedestrian streets and quite a good summer music festival (for further details see Stresa Festival). Just south of town, the Villa Pallavicino has a botanical garden and small zoo.Tourist info • 0323 301 50 • www.parcozoopallavicino.it
4. Santa Caterina del Sasso
In thanks for being saved from a shipwreck in the 13th century, a local merchant built a chapel into the cliff face above the deepest part of the lake. There are some frescoes, but the main attraction is the setting (for further details see also Santa Caterina del Sasso).Outside Leggiuno • mid-Jun–mid-Sep: 9am–6pm; otherwise 9am–noon, 2–6pm (Mar: to 5pm; Nov–Feb: w/e only) • Free
5. Isole Borromee
From the 1650s to today, the trio of tiny islands in the middle of Lake Maggiore has drawn admirers for the gracious palaces and ornate gardens built by the Borromeo family, who still own everything but the fishing village on Isola Superiore. The islands are among Lombardy’s top attractions (for further details see Lake Maggiore’s Isole Borromee).
6. Verbania
In 1939 Mussolini gave the ancient Roman name “Verbania” to a group of villages here that include little Suna, industrialized Intra, and Pallanza, an important town in the Middle Ages. Pallanza’s main sight is the landscaped garden of Villa Taranto, while its Palazzo Viani-Dugnani houses a collection of landscape paintings.
Tourist info • Corso Zanitello 6–8 • 0323 556 669
7. Cannero Riviera
Despite its northern locale, this sheltered promontory has a truly Mediterranean clime, enabling citrus trees and camellias to flourish. The lake vistas, steep medieval streets and 18th-century houses give it a pleasant feel. Most striking are the scraps of islands just offshore, sprouting glowering castles built by lake pirates in the 1400s (for further details see The Bloody Mazzarditis) and used by the Borromeo clan as a defensive line against the Swiss.
Tourist info • Via Angelo Orsi 1 • 10323 788 943
8. Cannobio
By the Swiss border at the base of a rushing mountain stream near the pretty Orrido di Santa Anna gorge, Cannobio dates back more than 3,000 years, though its steep, crooked pebble lanes and old plastered buildings are mainly medieval. The harbour is filled with restaurant tables in summertime.
Tourist info • Via Antonio Giovanola 25 • 0323 71 212 • www.procannobio.it
9. Ascona
Locarno’s neighbouring town on the Swiss end of the lake has been a favourite haunt of such cultural giants as Kandinsky, Freud and Thomas Mann. It has a split personality: there’s a Harley rally and Jazz festival in July, and a Rolls-Royce gathering and classical music concerts in September. The streets are lined with top-end boutiques and sights such as the 16th-century church Santi Pietro e Paolo. Up on the mountainside is Monte Verità. From the late 1800s to the 1940s this was a utopian community that housed artists, vegetarians and nudists.
Tourist info • Via Papio 5 • 0041 917 910 091 • www.ascona-locarno.com
10. Locarno
Sadly, most of this Swiss city at the northern end of the lake was rebuilt along modern Swiss lines of concrete, glass and steel. What remains of the medieval city, however, is worth crossing the border for. The 14th-century Castello Visconteo is a highlight, as is the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso (1497), which preserves paintings by Bramantino and Ciseri (avoid the long climb by taking the cable car). The Arps (20th-century artists Jean, Hans and Margherita) donated many works to a modern art gallery installed in the 17th-century Casa Rusca.Tourist info • in the Casino on Piazza Grande • 0041 917 910 091
The Bloody Mazzarditis
In the 15th century, the five Mazzarditi brothers built Cànnero’s castle-islets as a base from which to rob villages and ships. The brothers kept any captured women chained inside, but murdered the men. In 1414, Cànnero sent 500 soldiers to attack the castle. Four brothers escaped, the fifth was drowned; his ghost is said to still haunt the ruins.
A Day on Lake Maggiore
Morning
Be at the Stresa ferry dock by 10am and buy a day pass for island-hopping as well as admission tickets for the Isole Borromee sights.
Ride to Isola Bella first to spend 2 hours exploring the collections of the Borromeo Palace and the intricate gardens above it. Then catch the 12:25pm ferry for the short hop to the Isola Superiore, where you can settle into a lakeside table on Verbano’s terrace for lunch with a view (book ahead of time).
Mid-Afternoon
Wander the tourist/fishing village after lunch before continuing on the boat to Isola Madre.
The Borromeo Villa on Madre takes only 30 minutes to wander through, but the vast botanical gardens surrounding it are a delight, thick with exotic flora and populated by colourful exotic birds. The multilingual map handed out explains many of the rare specimens and is remarkably informative.
Try to catch a return ferry that stops on the mainland at Lido/Funivia for Mottarone – one stop before Stresa proper. Get off here and stroll along the little-used waterfront promenade for the final 20-minute walk back to downtown Stresa. You will be rewarded with a lovely late afternoon view of the islands on your left, and romantically crumbling, abandoned villas on your right.
Places to Eat
1. Osteria degli Amici, Stresa
This convivial spot has some outdoor tables and a menu ranging from pizza to freshly caught lake fish.Via Bolongaro 31 • 0323 30 453 • Closed mid-Nov–early Feb • €30–€40
2. Il Vicoletto, Stresa
This restaurant on a tiny street serves home-made pasta, tasty risotto and fish from the lake. Good selection of wines, and a few tables outside on the veranda.Vicolo del Poncivo 3 • 0323 932 102 • Closed Thu (except Mar–Oct), mid-Jan–mid-Feb • €30–€40
3. Piemontese, Stresa
Stresa’s top restaurant piles on the elegance with bow-tied service and a wood-panelled dining room. What’s best, though, is the vine-shaded cobbled courtyard, where you can enjoy hearty local dishes with a modern twist.Via Mazzini 25 • 0323 30 235 • Closed Mon, Dec–Jan • €30–€40
4. Verbano, Isola Superiore (Isola dei Pescatori)
The hotel’s restaurant is set on a terrace at the tip of the island, with great views. Regional dishes are very good and reasonably priced.0323 32 534 • Closed Nov–Mar • €40–€50
5. Milano, Verbania-Pallanza
Verbania’s best restaurant serves classic Piedmontese dishes and lake fish in lovely grounds.Corso Zanitello 2 • 0323 556 816 • Closed Tue & mid-Nov–Feb • over €50
6. Boccon di Vino, Verbania-Suna
Laid-back little osteria serving home-made pastas and hearty seconds under vaulted ceilings.Via Troubetzkoy 86 • 0323 504 039 • Closed Tue & Wed lunch in winter • €20–€30
7. Lo Scalo, Cannobio
The best of Cannobio’s restaurants offers Piedmontese cooking with inventive touches.Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III 32 • 0323 71 480 • Closed Wed in winter • over €50
8. Il Sole, Ranco
A fresh take on Italian regional cuisine. Splendid view of lake from the terrace (for further details see Il Sole di Ranco).Piazza Venezia 5 • 0331 976 507 • Closed Mon lunch, Tue lunch & Christmas–Feb • over €50
9. La Vecchia Arona, Arona
Franco Carrera is an enthusiastic and innovative reinterpreter of “traditional” dishes. Book in advance.Via Marconi 17 • 0322 242 469 • Closed Fri • €40–€50
10. Trattoria Campagna, Arona
A country trattoria in the hills above Arona, with a seasonal menu composed of excellent home-made pasta and lake fish.Via Vergante 12 • 0322 57 294 • Closed Mon dinner (except Jul & Aug) & Tue • €30–€40
