I've started to collect books about Stresa, buying one or two each time I'm there. My most recent one is called Lago Maggiore -- An Exciting Journey, which was published in 2007 by Nous Publishers. There are many reasons why this book is one of my favorites. Despite its small size (6 3/8 inches sq.) this book has more photographs than most. And because of the vibrancy and clever montaging of many of the photos, the result is a visually consistent and really captivating book. I don't think the photos lose anything due to being smaller in size, in fact I think we benefit from the collections, grouped together by subject. The book's 204 pages are divided into two sections. The first 144 pages are devoted to the photos, with each page having a sharp black background and minimal text. The paper is high-quality, thick and glossy. The photo section is further divided geographically into different regions of the lake. Stresa and its surroundings are given, rightly so, a large portion of these pages. The remainder of the book is dedicated to writings... literary references to Stresa and Lago Maggiore from many famous and historical figures. Text throughout the book is provided in four languages: English, Italian, French, and German, and for this and its 11 Euro price, it makes a nice gift for many international friends, as well as for yourself.

Here are a few photos from Lago Maggiore -- An Exciting Journey. My copies of these pages don't do the actual pages justice at all, but I hope it gives you an idea and entices you to take a better look at the originals.