Federico Ashton - Pecetto of Macugnaga and Monte Rosa, 1887

The true star of Lago Maggiore is, always was, and always will be, its natural scenery and splendor. No matter what beautiful palaces have been built, no matter how many restaurants there are serving delicious regional food, no matter the markets and the shopping and the music festivals, the true attraction here is the lake and the mountains themselves. Remove the natural elements and I'm not certain that people would travel here for the aforementioned sights, but remove the palaces and restaurants and markets, and people would still come, senza dubbio, without any doubt, just to sit and marvel at this incredible landscape.

Antonio Massara was a man who understood this very well. Born in Miena in 1878, Massara lived his entire life around these lakes. His deep passion for the area, and his conviction to convince others to appreciate it as he did, led him to two great projects in the early 1900s. He started a magazine, Verbania, and in 1909 he founded a museum, originally called “Museo Storico e Artistico del Verbano e delle Valli adiacenti”, The Museum of the History and Art of Verbania and of the Adjacent Valleys. By 1914 the name evolved to Museo del Paesaggio, The Museum of the Landscape, which it remains today.

Achille Tomanetti - Ploughing at Miazzina

These are Antonio Massara's own words, spoken in the turbulent years of the early twentieth century. Little did he know they would have such lasting meaning. I think, what he is trying to tell us, if I may speak for him, is to stop, pause, appreciate this. When you leave the museum and head back outside, if you look around you and see the paesaggio, the landscape, in a whole new way, then Massara has succeeded in his goal.