We are accustomed to seeing the gardens on Isola Bella in all their spring and summer splendor; like when we recently looked at the Giardino d'Amore section of it, with brilliant white peacocks strutting on lush green lawns and an explosion of flowers and colors. But look here... on a gray, damp, foggy day in February the gardens of the Palazzo Borromeo have a different kind of beauty... almost ethereal... Without the distraction of blossoms and blooms, other features catch our eye, other secrets wait to be discovered.  Following, thanks to Giampiero Zanzi, the founder of Lo Spirito del Lago art show, is a rare look at these gardens at a time when almost no one gets to see them.





Thanks again to Giampiero for the kind use of his photographs.  If you're here in the summer don't miss Lo Spirito del Lago, the very progressive art exhibit that Giampiero organizes in lo Spazio Luparia in Stresa and in various centuries-old venues on Isola Bella.

Photographs are all the property of Giampiero Zanzi and may only be used with his permission.