Where is this in Stresa? It's the water lily pond in the gardens of the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees. The small pond is stocked with multicolored carp imported from Japan, and the entire pond and area surrounding it is a carefully balanced ecosystem where water, plants, and animals exist together in perfect harmony.

If you like gardens, don't miss a stroll through the park at the five-star Borromees. It's open to the public, just enter from the main driveway at the left side of the hotel.

Whether you are an avid gardener who plans your vacations around visiting great botanical parks, or just appreciate the beauty of nature, Stresa is a perfect destination for you. It's not for nothing that it has been voted one of the most floral small cities in Italy! We've spoken about and visited several of the gardens close to Stresa in other posts, now let's list them all together here in one place as a helpful planning guide. Trust me... even if you don't consider yourself a plant person, try to fit at least one garden visit into your itinerary. These are all as particular to Stresa as are the Borromean Islands, and every bit as impressive. Here are the main gardens in or near to Stresa:

Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella:

Speaking of the islands, this garden is located there. Enter the fantastical Italianate Baroque-style garden on Isola Bella by going through the Palazzo Borromeo. Designed in the 1600s by the early Borromeo developers of the island, the gardens are unique for the ten tiers of terraces, the large shell statuary 'stage' that greets you after exiting the palace, dozens of statues, obelisks and columns, and of course, the symbol of the Borromees, the unicorn, who presides over it all from above. Look for individual gardens such as il Giardino d'Amore, the Azalea garden, and the Giardino di Fiori. Take photos of the very tame white peacocks that stroll the grounds. Consider taking a guided tour or an audio guided through the palace and gardens... you will gain so much more in this way. Take the ferry from either Stresa ferry stop to reach Isola Bella.

Cost: There are many different ticket prices, based on age, whether you are also visiting Isola Madre, la Rocca Anghera or the painting gallery, or whether you would like a guided tour. Visit the chart here to decide. 

Main website:  http://www.borromeoturismo.it/

I can FINALLY cross this off my must-see list. I finally visited Villa Taranto to see the tulips in bloom during Tulip Week, la Settimana del Tulipano. 

 

We caught this spectacle at the end of its run (this year Tulip Week was the two weeks from April 13 to 27), when the azaleas and some types of rhododendrons were also in full bloom. But the stars, of course, are the 80,000 tulip bulbs. They are scattered in beds throughout the gardens, but the highlight is the Tulip Maze, which alone exhibits 65 different varieties of tulips. After the tulips have bloomed, this same maze becomes the location for the six-foot-tall dahlias that take the spotlight in the autumn. 

All the tulips were labeled with their names, but unfortunately I didn't have time to make note of them. We were there late in the afternoon, toward closing time, and as I was with two men I was also concerned for their tulip tolerance, which, it turns out, was quite high. I also wanted to leave us enough time for a beer in the tranquil beer garden near the entrance, before the garden closed at 6:30 and we headed to nearby Suna for aperitivo and dinner.

Lush, red geraniums define each and every balcony of the hotel.

The prize has been presented, and the winner is the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees! Last week, the organization Asproflor presented its award for "The most flowery hotel in Italy" to the director of Stresa's five-star Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees. The competition is organized by Asproflor, in collaboration with the tourist district of the Italian lakes, with the belief that the beauty of flowers not only adds to the already natural beauty of the region, but actually adds to their appeal among tourists when choosing vacation destinations.

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Some come to Stresa for it's views of mountains, lakes, and villages. But many also come looking for views of manicured gardens, flower beds, and exotic plants. And why not? With Stresa as a base, lovers of giardini can easily visit several famous Italian gardens: Isola Bella, Isola Madre, Giardino Botanico Alpinia, Villa Taranto, and Villa San Remigio, to name the closest and most well known. For those of you looking to combine this with a more far-reaching garden tour, here is an article, written by Steve Whysall for the Vancouver Sun, detailing a ten-day Italian lakes garden tour of Italy, which does, of course, include Stresa, of which he seems particularly fond, calling it his 'all-time favorite'. After all, four out of the five photographs used to illustrate the article are of Isola Bella.

I'm offering this article here as inspiration to plan your own garden-based trip.

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.

Isola Bella was designed to look a bit like a large ship... can you see it?

Ah, l'amore... Because it's Valentine's Day, let's visit the Giardino d'Amore, the Garden of Love, at the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella. This particular area is found on the fifth tier of the famous ten-tiered garden. If you have not visited the gardens yet then maybe a little background is in order. The Borromeo gardens are considered one of the finest examples of Italianate Baroque landscaping. What does this mean? As opposed to our modern concept of gardens and parks consisting of open lawns and terrains of natural hills, the idea in the 17th century was to create a completely manmade work of art from the earth. Therefore it was shaped, molded, dug out and piled up. Natural elements were used as materials, and plants were often kept trimmed and coerced into elaborate shapes. We still see some topiaries and planned gardens today, but back then, they ruled...

Each of the three Borromeo Islands has such a unique personality. If Isola dei Pescatori is a quaint home to simple fishermen, and Isola Bella boasts a palatial, magnificent abode for princes and princes, then Isola Madre falls in between the two. I would describe Madre as lush, verdant, and the most comfortable of the three islands. It is also the one on which you will see the least evidence of souvenir shops and other touristic trappings, and therefore the easiest in which to lose yourself.

The largest of the Borromeo Islands, Isola Madre is famous for its azalea, rhododendron, and camelia bushes, but also for the Cashmere Cyprus, the largest example in all of Europe and over 200 years old. Citrus plants were introduced to the island at the beginning of the 1500s by Lancillotto Borromeo, having been brought from Liguria. The microclimate of the island allows them to flourish, giving more of a tropical feel. The villa, built in the sixteenth century, was constructed atop ninth century ruins of a church and cemetary. After disembarking and purchasing a ticket (I paid 10 euro for mine at the island entrance, but many combination tickets are available) one enters the property through a gate, and begins a slow climb up gravel paths to the house. At first narrow and closed on one side by an ivy-covered wall, the path soon opens onto larger lawns and beds of plants. Many plants are labeled, as this island is renowned for its exotic botanical collection.




After leaving the house one can also visit the family chapel, and spend more time in the gardens. There are many paths off limits to tourists, and of course I wondered where they go as the wound around corners, but the bit of mystery is nice.

Here's a nice detour to incorporate into your stroll along the lungolago. As guest writer Tony points out, not many know that it is possible and permitted to enter the gardens of the five-star Hotel Iles des Borromees. I didn't know this either... although I have stepped inside a few times to take a peek because the gate was open. It is nice to know that it is allowed... So please do... feel free to enter; be respectful of course, but stroll, admire, and, as Tony says, enjoy...

It's here! It's here!

Springtime has arrived in Stresa. And with it, the 2010 tourist season officially begins, next Saturday, March 20, with the reopening of the Borromean properties on Isola Bella, Isola Madre, and Il Rocco at Angera. Following that, on Friday March 26, the gates of the botanical garden Villa Taranto in Verbania will also be unlocked.The tiny patches of snow that still remain on the ground will soon disappear, and instead, almost as if by magic, spring's bounty will be bloom everywhere. Here’s what you’ll see in these first weeks:

On Isola Madre, in the grand nineteenth century park, visitors can walk among the camellia, magnolia, and orchids that have been collected from around this world, learn how and when they first made their journey here, and why this is such an ideal habitat for them. Step inside the palace to discover the Borromean collection of antique marionettes, and at the end of the tour through the house, relax and feel the warmth of the sun while sitting in the original glass greenhouse.

One wall of the 15th century fortress Rocaa di Angera

And finally, big news from the Rocco di Angera. Ready for this season, a medieval garden has been completed, offering a magical look at the Middle Ages. The new garden has been excavated around the rocky buttresses fronting Lago Maggiore, and visitors will find it an agreeable spot to stop and meditate on the surroundings. Guests to the Rocco can also visit, as in previous years, il Museo della Bambola e del Giocattolo, il Museo degli Automi, and the Museo delle Ceramiche, museums dedicated to dolls and games, robots, and ceramics. And new for 2010, a show built around the theme of medieval gardens.

In the summer of 2009, Stresa entered itself into a national contest in Italy, that being for the award of 'Comune Fioriti,' Floral Community... I'm so pleased and proud to report that this past Sunday, when the winners were chosen in a ceremony in Pre-Saint-Didier, in Valle d'Aosta, Stresa was crowned the winner in the category of cities with 3,000 to 20,000 people. And if that isn't accolade enough, during the presentation a special honor was also bestowed upon Stresa. Each year, as part of the competition, two communities are chosen to represent Italy in the larger European "Entente Florale" competition. Stresa was one of the communities chosen for this, the other being Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia, which was the winning town in Italy in the touristic category.

This is no small competiton. 'Comune Fioriti' was started ten years ago, and has grown in stature each year, now attracting 25,000 participating cities annually from all over Europe. The goal is two-fold, to both make these cities more beautiful to those who visit, and to give pleasure also to those who live there. I've always known how beautiful Stresa is in the summer, with flowering gardens along the lungolago and windowboxes on so many balconies; now, Stresa has been officially recognized for these efforts and for its beauty.

The other winners were the village of Fossa, Abruzzo, for communities with fewer than 3,000 residents, Savigliano, Piemonte, for cities of more than 20,000, as well as the previously mentioned Salsomaggiore Terme.

In 1690, this is what Isola Bella looked liked from Stresa. Stresa is much changed; the island, not at all.

Isola Bella, beautiful island... It is, hands down, the main attraction to see when visiting the Stresa/Borromean Gulf area, and yet, ever since its construction in the late 1600s, it has received some pretty horrible reviews. There were some harsh critics, even then, here's what a few of them published about the island in their travel books:

Danish writer Friederike Brun, who visited in 1795, likened Isola Bella to a mushroom emerging from the water, and the garden to an "oversized cake."

William Hazlitt, in 1826, wrote he was "Utterly disappointed in the Borromean Isles. Isola Bella resembles a pyramid of sweetmeats ornamented with green festoons and flowers."

Joseph Woods wrote in 1810, "Isola Bella contains a magnificent villa of the Borromean family, in sublime bad taste both inside and out. "

Jacques Augustin Galiffe, in 1816, "Isola Bella is altogether artificial, and contains a large but ill-looking palace in the worst architectural taste..."

And take a look at this excerpt, written by Richard Bagot, in his 1908 book, The Lakes of Northern Italy:

Wow. But these descriptions, while certainly the opinions of the individual writers, for the most part can be said to be true. From a distance or close up, the palace and the gardens are completely out of scale, they seem to overflow the island on all sides. In between, where the Borromeans never succeeded in purchasing the land, the original medieval village still exists, wrapped over the palace as if it grew there, although in reality it was the palace that grew around the village.



The plans for the island began simply enough:

Carlo Borromeo the Third bought the city of Stresa, and with it, some of the land on the island called Isola Inferiore, in 1630. A plan drawn in 1631 has this note written by him in the margin, "Plan of a small house, on Isola Inferiore in Lago Maggiore, and thus from now on the island will be called Isabella, since it is made to create a delightful garden of citrus and flowers and a residence for the pleasure and recreation of my lady the Countess Donna Isabella."

It was when Vitaliano the Sixth took over though, that the current vision began to take shape. And here's the thing, the thing that redeems the island, that takes it from garish ostentation to whimsy and, if not quite beauty, then at least fascination. The creation was always intended to entertain. Okay, certainly also to demonstrate the money and power of the Borromeo family, but its primary purpose, as thought out by Vitaliano, was to be a playground for the many noble guests who would visit it. It was meant to be a vision, an idea, over the top. It was he, working with noted architects of the day, who thought up the shell grotto, the ten-tiered garden, and the addition of the many symbolic and fanciful statues. In fact, it was decided that certain statues should be larger than originally intended, so that guests would have a more impressive approach to the island and recognize the statues sooner. Then, a further thought, it wasn't acceptable that guests would see only the backs of statues depending upon where they approached from, and at this point it was decided to increase the number of obelisks and spires, symmetrical from all sides.

Maybe some of those early travelers missed the point? Maybe I'm missing it? Non lo so. I don't know. My first impression of the island, palace, and gardens, was, and still is, that of a fairy tale, or of Alice in Wonderland. It's a place far removed from reality, and since that was its purpose and original goal, in this way I think it has succeeded quite admirably.


In my mind, perhaps it was Charles Dickens, after visiting in 1844, who summed it up best:

"For however fanciful and fantastic the Isola Bella may be, and is, it still is beautiful."

This Dickens quote is used on the official tourism site for the island. On the site, you'll find information on tours, hours, and other facts about this very unique place. The Palazzo Borromeo is open to visitors from late March until the end of October. And it is a must see.



Web site: www.borromeoturismo.it

All photographs property of Dana Kaplan or the Borromeo Turismo Web site.
1690 view is a black and white photo of an oil painting by Gaspar Van Wittel, View of Isola Bella from Stresa, West Side, 1690. Painting and photo property of Gallery Carlo Orsi, Milano.

Villa San Remigio

Here's the story of Villa San Remigio, which adjoins the property of the Chiesa di San Remigio in Verbania. While the church is one thousand years old, the villa can only boast a few more than one hundred. But instead, it does have a great love story...

It was the mid 1800s, and the Browne family from Ireland was traveling through Pallanza when their carriage broke down.

Or maybe it was destiny that stopped them in that spot.

Because while waiting for repairs the family discovered the old church on the hill with its view over the lake, and the Browne daughters convinced their father to purchase the adjoining land.



Jump ahead now to the end of the 1800s. Mr. Browne's granddaughter Sofia has grown up on this property. And she has been in love with her cousin, Silvio Della Valle di Casanova, since they were childhood playmates. They married in 1896. He, a poet and musician, and she, a painter, had a grand vision and a dream for the land, and immediately began putting that dream into action.

From the years of 1910 to 1916 they employed thirty gardeners full time to mold and shape the land to their exacting whims. They terraced the steep hillside, creating levels with different themes. The result is a succession of fantastic spaces, so close to each other, and yet so different. The spaces are intended to evoke certain feelings, certain emotions.


Flights of staircases, paths, and narrow passages lead you through the different environments. The Garden of Hours is a remembrance of their happy childhood. The Garden of Joy, a colorful homage to happiness. There is the Garden of Sadness, shadowy and melancholy, and the Garden of Memories, designed with a sense of nostalgia for the past. And the Garden of Sighs, an area intended to soothe and heal the soul.

This park is the culmination of their combined artistic talents, their masterpiece. Together they chose every statue, every fountain. The motive was to create a space where artistic shapes and natural beauty are one and the same.

And like all artists, they wanted their work to be seen, to be loved by others. As soon as the garden was completed in 1916 they opened the doors to the public. They charged a small admission. And they donated all of the admission fees to charity.

What an incredible amount of creativity and good their passion fueled.

The garden was closed to the public upon Silvio's death in 1929. Silvio and Sofia's daughter donated the property to the province in 1977. The villa, spectacular in its own rite, is used as offices for the Province of Verbania and is available for weddings and private events. The gate was locked when I was there; the garden is open for guided two hour tours in the spring and summer, and I was two weeks too early. The Chiesa di San Remigio still sits next door, much unchanged for almost 1000 years. I almost went inside it also, but that's another story...

The best seat in the house at the Giardino Botanico Alpinia

There are four major botanical sites for which Stresa is known. There is Villa Taranto, where a Scottish sea captain cultivated 20 hectares of beautiful English-style gardens. Isola Madre's gardens were designed in the 1600s by Carlo IV, of the Borromeo family. On Isola Bella there is the fantastic landscaping behind the palace. And high above Stresa, looking down over the other three, is the Giardino Botanico Alpinia.

Plants are clearly labeled in beds

As it name implies, this garden specializes in plants which grow in alpine and subalpine climates. It boasts over 1,000 different species of these. It also has a very fine collection of Asian plants, with species indigenous to China and Japan.

But what it has, most of all, overall, is its location, and its view. Located 800 meters above Stresa, in the mountain valley between Lago Maggiore and the summit of Mottarone, the Alpine Garden is reached by taking the funivia, the Stresa - Mottarone cablecar, from the station at the Carciano boat dock in Stresa.

The cablecar has a midstation, where passengers change to the next gondola to continue up the mountain to Mottarone. Or, they can get disembark at this midstation and walk to the entrance to the gardens, 300 meters away.

Here, nature has created a shelf, a natural balcony covering 40,000 square meters. Here, visitors can take in sweeping views of the lake and the mountains. They can stroll along the stone paths which traverse the 4 hectares of gardens. Walk down to the pond. You can even hike back down to Stresa on clearly marked trails. Or, you can just sit on that bench, take in that view...

Four straight days of rain here in Stresa. Enough to make me think back to an afternoon two weeks ago in Villa Taranto, where I took these photos. Flowers, sunshine, blue skies... that's more like it.

It took a Scottish captain, Neil McEacharn, thirty years to create this stunning property, which he then donated to Italy. It will take you one to two hours to meander its 20 hectares of gardens on the 7 km of paths. And then leave yourself a few minutes more to relax with a glass of wine in the cafe located at the entrance.