Must share this beautiful nine-minute video of Isola Bella, which was posted on the site Everybody Loves Italian. What a beautifully edited video of a visit to Isola Bella ... And incredible video of the white peacocks! Are you visiting Stresa this year? This is what awaits you...

Credit for the video goes to YouTube user Zuzu. Here's the link to the YouTube page:

YouTube Isola Bella

The charming town of Baceno, nestled in Italian Alps just a stone's throw from Switzerland.

So... a priest, an astronaut, an American and an Italian walk into the woods. Sounds like the classic joke? Well, it's no joke. It happened last weekend, when we went to see the Orridi di Uriezzo. This is a fascinating natural formation dating to the last Ice Age, when glaciers moving through Europe carved great, long lakes (Lago Maggiore among them) and deep, flat mountain valleys. But a certain combination of factors in this location left particularly beautiful results: the now-named Orridi and the Marmite Gigante.

We drove up to Baceno, a pretty Alpine town in Italy near the Swiss border. It took about 40 minutes from Stresa. Parking for the Orridi path is in front of the medieval church; worth peaking into as it was one of those churches that looks so unassuming on the exterior but then opens to glorious treasures inside. To begin the walk, enter the path on the left of the church, down and around the church and into the woods. The ground varies between ancient rock-paving, to dirt, to solid rock that shone in the sunlight like metal.   (continued ...   )

August is over, and I hope you've enjoyed sharing some it it with me in Stresa. September now... the days will grow shorter, the weather a bit more brisk, and so it's time to shift our focus to autumn, and all that it brings. With less crowds and cooler weather it becomes the perfect time to take to the roads and see more of the area.

I'd like to start by sharing this article, written by Diana Baur, of Piemontescapes , and posted on Bleeding Espresso as part of Michelle Fabio's wonderful Gita Italiana 2010 series. Diana has written an incredibly informative, eye-opening post on Piemonte, of which Stresa, and this end of Lago Maggiore, is a part.

Piemonte: Beautiful, Colorful and Tough

I was in a funky little shoe store in Genoa awhile back. The girl that was helping me, a sweet little pea who had clearly spent every non-working, non-sleeping hour perfecting her tan on the beach in Nervi, asked where I came from. I told her that I was American, but living in southern Piemonte. Her eyes widened.

“Che duro,” That’s tough, she responded. I looked at her in surprise. Had she ever been there? After all, it’s only an hour from Genoa, the town where I live. “Mai!” never – with a an expression that clearly said to me, now why would I ever in a million years go there?

It’s funny how little people really know about where I live. Italians often see Piemonte as the North Pole of Italy, because it’s surrounded by snow-covered Alps. They see it as remote, save Torino, where so many from the central and southern parts of the country once came to work for Fiat, in the days when the company had over one hundred thousand workers from all over the boot.

Non-Italians often only associate one thing with Piemonte – Barolo. And often, it’s knowledge from a safe distance – Barolo is a wine with its price and for which a great deal of time and trial must be invested to truly understand and appreciate.

Of course, none of these paradigms begin to do Piemonte justice. To begin to understand what Piemonte is, it’s actually easier to start with the short list of what Piemonte is not.

Piemonte is not the beach. Unlike so many Italian regions, not a lick of salt water touches Piemonte’s borders. If it’s sandy Mediterranean or Adriatic coastline you are looking for, you would be better off looking elsewhere.

Piemonte is not Renaissance or Baroque Art. Please, oh, please don’t come here looking for Caravaggio or DaVinci. If we have any of these works of art, they are usually on loan from Florence or Rome.

Ok, now that that’s handled we can finally get to what Piemonte actually is.

Piemonte is stunningly beautiful. Ok, this might seem like a subjective statement, but the truth is that the ocean is the only thing we don’t have. We have beautiful lakes, Orta and Maggiore, that are surrounded by the western portion of the Alps (also part of the Piemontese landscape). The Lake Region is a combination of hip, historic, traditional and overwhelmingly majestic.

Speaking of the Alps, the Gran Parco Paradiso is in the shared regions of Piemonte and Val d’Aosta. A short ride from the flatlands of Cuneo will bring you to Limone Piemonte, where the skiing is great and the views are even better. Valle di Susa and Sestriere, Bardoneccia and many other famous ski resorts are all within Piemonte’s borders.

But of course, the most beautiful part to me is where I live, the wine country. We have over 70,000 hectars of vineyard, with over half of them registered as either DOC or DOCG (the largest DOC land registration in Italy). We have vast kiwi, hazelnut, walnut and cherry plantations. The geographic makeup of Piemonte is mixed agricultural combined with woodland, a fact that helps make it so beautiful.

Piemonte is the best food in the country. Ok. Relax, Umbria and Emilia Romagna. You too, Sicily. But seriously, this area takes the best of what Italy and France has to offer, spins the two together and produces some of the most amazing flavor combinations imaginable. It also helps that the selection of over 39 DOC wines to choose from. As the great Marcella Hazan states on her website Made In Italy:

Great wines come from (Piemonte) and it’s not a coincidence that the land that produces a great wine also produces a great cuisine.

Piemonte is part of the economic heart of Italy. It produces 8.4% of the country’s national wealth, is the cradle of the country’s auto production and invests 1.8% of its GDP back into innovation and science every year.

Piemonte is stylish and sophisticated. People often are shocked on their first visit to Torino. They somehow expect an industrial backwater. What they find is a city that is more European than strictly Italian, with fabulous shopping arcades, a gorgeous river promenade, great museums, a lively University district, great restaurants, and perhaps the most interesting café culture outside of Paris.

That sophistication trickles down to all of the smaller cities. Alba, heart of the Langhe wine region, has a wonderful pedestrian shopping district with local products and designers; the same can be said for Alessandria, Acqui Terme, Asti, Verbania, Stresa, Novara, Casale Monferrato, Cuneo and a myriad of other large towns that boast a cultured and colorful lifestyle.

Piemonte is the home of the first Italian. Piemonte is the birthplace of Italy as a singular nation. Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, who designed the contitutional structure for a unified Italian state, and for whom every town in the country has a street named, was Piemontese. Another notable street-name-worthy Piemontese: Vittorio Emmanuele II, the first King of Unified Italy.

Piemonte is close to France and Switzerland. This is not only handy for me, as a bed and breakfast owner catering to an international audience, but it’s handy for Piemonte as well, since it means that the region has a definite international flair. Our dialect reflects our proximity to France, as does our cuisine. The region is steeped in Napoleonic and Savoy history.

In short, with the exception of just a couple of details, Piemonte is what Italy is. Colorful. Strong. Proud. And yes, it’s sometimes tough as well. But that invariably comes with the territory and the culture of a land rich in tradition and history.

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Diana Baur is an innkeeper, artist, writer and potter living and working in Acqui Terme, Piemonte, in the northwest corner of Italy. Much of the last seven years have been taken up with perfecting the art of luxury innkeeping at the Baur B&B and the restoration of her four hundred year old farmhouse and barn. She writes regularly for Italian Notebook, Slow Travel and Travel Dudes as well as for her own blogs, formerly Creative Structures and now Piemontescapes and A Certain Simplicity and spends her free time either in her studio, playing with her dog, or finding new local wineries to showcase with her husband Michael. Together they offer a variety of services, including wine tours, cooking classes, wine tastings and pottery classes. Photos © Diana Baur.

On the very first day that I was ever in Stresa, Giuseppe and I drove to Switzerland. Maybe you're wondering why... but that's another story. So there we were, driving towards Locarno, Switzerland, on the road that runs along Lago Maggiore. At one point Giuseppe pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped, to show me a house that he liked. The house was lower than where we were standing on the road, and so we were looking over it, to the lake beyond. The house was lovely to be sure, a world apart on its piece of land on the edge of the lake. But it was the view that the house had, of the lake, that captured me. Were those castles?

Castles... or more precisely ruins of castles, were floating on two small islands in the lake, really only a stone's throw from this house. Giuseppe was nonchalant... here on Lago Maggiore it could easily happen to have a view of castles from your house apparently. Remember, it was only my first day on the lake... I didn't know yet about the magic in all its corners.

So what were these castles? Here's a bit of their story, interspersed with some stunning photographs of them.

They're called i Castelli di Cannero, the Castles of Cannero, due to their location only a short distance from the shores of the lake in the town of Cannero. And they are the remains of the Rocca Vitaliana, a fortress constructed between 1519 and 1521 by Ludovico Borromeo, who named them Vitaliano in honor of his illustrious grandfather, Vitaliano Borromeo. But those ruins, they were built on the top of other preexisting ruins. The earliest fortifications on the islands date to the 12th century. And in the early 1400s the five Mazzarditi brothers used the islands as their headquarters during their cruel reign. They had captured the village of Cannobio, and this began an era of domination, violence and raids that the Mazzarditi inflicted on all the people living in the coastal villages and towns. The Mazzarditi reign of terror ended when the Visconti lay seige to the fortress, forcing the Mazzarditi to surrender by leaving them to starve on the islands. Their buildings fell into ruin and were distroyed, so much so that not even a trace remains of them today.

But the Rocca Vitaliano, it was a defense used by the Borromeos against the Swiss raids in this eastern region of Lago Maggiore. The principal part of the fortress, that being the part more to the east, is still a massive wall of stone, rising directly from the surface of the water, following the irregular course of the rocks; and the towers also still remain partially intact.


On the smaller island however, there remains now only one lone tower, cut off from the others, and some remnants of wall that continue to slowly crumble.


The Castelli di Cannero are visible from many places along the waterfront, and many of the ferries that traverse that part of the lake will go as close to them as possible for photos and gazing. They are now, at the time of this writing, undergoing a renovation of sorts by the Borromeo family, possibly for touristic purposes, a subject somewhat controversial, as the renovation was fought against by certain environmental groups. But when I saw them on that first day, unrenovated and unanticipated in the lake, they became for me instantly one of the symbols of the magical nature of this beautiful and strange place.


All photos courtesy of Lago Maggiore, le sue Valle, i soui Fiori, www.illagomaggiore.com.

Are you planning your summer trip to Stresa? Thinking about how to organize your days and what you want to see here? From the mails I receive it seems many of you are doing just that. And while you all have your own ideas, your own interests, and your own priorities for your trip, it's helpful sometimes to see a planned itinerary to use as a starting point, to help you dream of your own.

A reader, E., wrote to me asking a couple of questions about her upcoming four-day trip to Stresa. She had already mapped out her days and was filling in the last details. I LOVE her itinerary... With her permission, take a look and see how E. will spend her relatively short stay in the area:

E. will arrive in Stresa and spend two nights in a hotel here on the lake. They plan to explore Stresa in that time, and to take an afternoon and visit Lago Orta, about 30 minutes away.

After the second night in Stresa they will jump aboard the Lago Maggiore Express, taking the train directly from Stresa and changing in Domodossola to the Centovale Railroad. They plan to use the two-day ticket, which means they can complete the circuit shown above on the map over a two-day period, at their leisure, embarking and disembarking at will. This scenic track will take them through the Valle Vigezzo and the Alps, both Italian and then Swiss, and finally bring them to Locarno, on the Swiss side of Lago Maggiore.

The next day they'll catch a ferry again, back to Stresa and the Borromean Islands. They plan to disembark on Isola Pescatori, where they have booked one night in the lovely Hotel Belvedere. This gives them the afternoon, night, and the next morning the explore the islands.

And from there, finally, they will take the direct shuttle bus from Stresa to Malpensa airport, to catch their flight home. As E. put it in her mail, "I cannot think of a prettier place to spend my last night in Italy!" She's right you know...

I'm sure this itinerary isn't for all of you. Some of you only want to stay in Stresa and do nothing more than stroll and relax. Some are set on an active, outdoor experience. All choices are good. What I do like about this itinerary is the sheer variety of it. It has mountains, valleys, lakes... trains, boats, cars... and it's very doable and not as strenuous as it might seem. The trains and boats are a relaxing way to travel, and what you do in between is entirely up to you. This itinerary can be almost indefinitely adapted to individual tastes, and it can be done in the other direction as well. I hope it inspires you in some way as you plan yours.

Recently I've been getting so many wonderful mails from readers. They challenge us with questions about Stresa, they share stories about times they've been here and what their connections are to here, and they teach me so many things that I didn't yet know about this place. Thanks to E., and to all of you... and keep it coming!

Colleague and I often discuss what makes for the perfect day in Stresa. By this, we mean the perfect day for the tourist who, sadly, has only one full day to spend here, and for whom this is their first visit. We receive a lot of mail about this as well, and therefore, we talk about.

Let's say that you've arrived early this morning, or perhaps the night before. You're here. This is how we think you should spend this day:

Start with cappuccino. Or a caffe latte. Or a caffe macchiato. Whatever your favorite Italian morning coffee is. Have it at the Gigi Bar, Bravi Bar, or Jolly Bar. Those three places have delicious croissants made fresh on the premises all morning. This is how we want you to get yourself into your Italian mood for the day.

After, walk along the lake to the boat station. If it's early in the day, I'm recommending that you walk to the opposite station from where you are. So if you are near the Carciano station walk along the lake to the Stresa imbarcadero, or vice versa. We don't need to rush, we have all day, the walk is beautiful, and I want you to see it.

Buy the island excursion ticket which grants you access to all three Borromean islands. And in the next hours, we think you should try to at least stop on all three. Although close to each other, and close to Stresa, they are so different. It is a case of the whole being far greater than the sum of their parts.

Isola Bella: The main island, and where you may need the most time. Buy the admission ticket to the Palazzo Borromeo and walk through the self-guided tour. The route through the palace winds through a series of public and private spaces, then down a flight of stairs and into the mysterious grotto, and finally, releases you into the famous and magical gardens. When you've had your fill of peacocks, statues, and ten-tiers of plantings exit the garden and get lost a bit in the medieval village alongside of it. Eat when you want, drink when you want, I'll leave that to you and your appetite.

Isola Madre: This is the largest island of the three. It's also famous for its gardens, especially the collections of azalea, rhodedendrens, camelia, and wisteria. The early sixteenth century villa has been open to the public since the 1700s, and like Isola Bella, don't be surprised to meet a few peacocks, pheasants, and parrots roaming free along the way.

Isola dei Pescatori: Tiny Pescatori, not much more than a collection of houses and narrow alleys, but so charming. You won't need a lot of time here to actually see the island, but I'd like you to be sure to leave some time here to relax and enjoy the island.

Tourist season, traditionally April 1st through October 31st here, is underway. Many of my readers are planning their first trips to Stresa. A question that I'm often asked is this: "I've heard Stresa is beautiful, and popular, but what are the main sights? What are the must-see things?"

The Borromean Islands: We'll count them as one although they are truly three distinct attractions. Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori, and Isola Madre.

The Stresa/Mottarone Cableway: Like the islands, this is a place that to me is composed of unique elements all in the same location. There is the cableway ride itself, the Giardino Botanico Alpinia at the midstation, and Mt. Mottarone and Alpyland at the top.


Villa Taranto: 15 hectares of spectacular English Gardens in Pallanza, a 15-minute boat ride from Stresa.

The Lago Maggiore Express: This day trip takes you first by train through the Italian Alps, charming mountain villages, the Swiss Alps, and finally back to Stresa by boat on Lago Maggiore, with the freedom to get off and on both the train and the boat in certain towns.

Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso: The approach to this 12th century abbey from the water is wonderful, the abbey, clinging to the side of the rocky mountain, is magical, and it is one of the most popular venues of the Stresa Music Festival.

The Laveno "Bucket" Lift: 1,100 meters up to the top of Sasso del Ferro mountain -- in a "bucket." There's no other way to get views like this experience!

Lago Orta: Lago Orta is a worthwhile day trip. It has its own character, its own charm, its own island, San Giulia, and a World Heritage Sacre Monte site. During the summer season there is a very convenient and inexpensive bus from Stresa to Orta from the Stresa imbarcadero parking lot.

La Rocca d'Angera: Also called Borromeo Castle, the 14th century fortress in Angera is completely preserved in its original state and has spectacular views of the lake, as well as several museums including the Doll Museum.

The Lido: Yes, the beach! It's summer after all, and the beach in Baveno has sand, chairs, a bar, a restaurant, volleyball games to watch, and cool lake breezes. But it's not the only sand here on which to lay your towel. You can find several nice beaches along the shore, and Stresa's pool, La Baia Rosa.

Markets: Every large town in the area has its own market day; Stresa's market is on Friday. The largest market around here takes place each Sunday morning in Cannobio, the last town before one reaches the Swiss border on the lake. And here's a schedule of other market days in other towns.

Restoration work has been completed on the Borromeo Tapestries, and lucky visitors can see them again in the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella. The tapestries have been reinstalled in the room which has been their home for the past 220 years, the magnificent, Baroque-Lombardy style Salone degli Arazzi.

The tapestries were woven around 1565, in Brussels, probably in the workshop of Pieter Coecke van Aalst. It was 1787 when Cardinal Vitaliano Borromeo acquired them. Their origins previous to this are not known with certitude; one theory is that they were part of a collection owned by Cardinal Mazarino, due to the great similarities they share in form, in border design, and in subject matter. And what subjects... The seven Borromeo panels all share a common background of greenery, forests. Then each, in turn, features a lioness and ducklings; a unicorn, monkey and eagle; a large unicorn tied up; ostiches; another lioness; a tiger; and serpents. The recurrence of the unicorn is not surprising; it is after all the symbol of the Borromeo family. The borders are identical on each piece, and all contain threads of gold and silver woven through with the wool and silk.

Cleaning tapestries of this age and delicacy is no easy task. First dust and the lining are removed. Then, all traces of any previously done, perhaps poor quality, restorations. An aerosol cleaner is next used, and then the tapestry is reformed on a special table where it can dry and breathe. Next, fragile parts are resewn, to strengthen them. And finally, a new lining, of pure linen, is connected to the back of the fabric. And now, clean again, colors flaming, golden threads shining, they are proud and ready to be seen again.

The only one of the three Borromean islands that is not still owned by the royal Borromeo family, Isola dei Pescatori is charming and fascinating. And small. Very small. Piccolissima small. The island measures 350 meters by 100 meters. Now a part of the city of Stresa, Pescatore is also called Isola Superiore; make a mental note that you may see it listed in this way at the boat stations. It has been inhabited for about 1000 years, as has Stresa. Nowadays there are about 50 permanent residents, and while fishing is still a great occupation on the lake, the main business these days is catering to the tourists who visit each day.

Could you spend a whole day on this little speck of an island? While most don't, while most tourists jump on and off the ferries like local stops and also visit the other Borromean islands, Isola Bella and Isola Madre, in one day, if you enjoy the slow approach, like I do, and have the time, like I did, si, yes, I think it's possible to enjoy several hours here.



Choose a restaurant. Many of course specialize in fish, but you'll find the usual assortment of pizza, panini, and pasta as well. Casabella, located just to the right of the boat station, is a Michelin 2009 selection.

In the afternoon visit the Church of San Vittore, which you'll find high in the center of the town. It dates back to the 11th century. There are traces here of an even more ancient chapel that may date from the 9th century, when it was most likely built for an order of Scozzola monks. Browse through the souvenir and craft shops. Maybe have another espresso before catching an afternoon ferry back to the relative activity in Stresa. Be careful to check the departure times of the last ferry. If you miss it, you'll need to take a water taxi, which will cost a bit more.

Two days ago this bush was not blooming, and now, as if it knows it's the first day of spring, it is. So it was a perfect day to take myself to the Camelia Show in Pallanza, Verbania. I took the bus from Stresa, 2 euro for the 15 minute ride to Pallanza. La 43 annuale Mostra Nazionale della Camelia was held in Villa Giulia:

The crowd is gathered around the table because free aperitivi and champagne were being served. Champagne in crystal flutes. Delicious aperitivi, tuna in balsalmic vinegar, shrimp, bruschetta, tiny fruit tortas, each served in its own individual little ceramic tureen. You can't hear them, but just to the right was a three-piece ensemble, playing classic tunes. The day is a bit colder than it looks in this bright sunshine, but it didn't seem to deter people from coming. The view behind me was this one of Lago Maggiore looking towards Pallanza, with the Alps in the background:And then of course there were the camelias, over 200 varieties on display:

There are little pieces of Baveno all over the world. Baveno is the next town over from Stresa, only 1.5 miles to the east along the lake. Like Stresa it has its piazza, elegant hotels on the lakefront, beautiful churches, but it is famous for one thing in particular that Stresa does not have. Baveno Pink Granite. The Vittorio Emanuele Galleria in Milan is built with Baveno Pink Granite. So are the columns of the Paris Opera House, the Church of St. Charles in Vienna, and the statue of Christopher Columbus in New York City. Many other well known landmarks around the globe in fact, have chosen this granito, granite, because of its distinctive appearance and color.

One place that I plan to revisit during my upcoming trip to Stresa is Isola Bella. The island is the most popular of the three Borromean islands, and the number one tourist destination for visitors here. I need to see it again, as there was simply too much for me to absorb in one visit, and so I plan to write in depth about all of the Borromean islands while there, fresh in my mind.

The ground-level rooms served the same purpose then as they do now. They provide a cool and cavern-like refuge from the heat during the summer, and they are a connecting passageway between the palace proper and the gardens behind. Every inch of space, even the ceilings and archways, are completely covered. Note the cement shell motif used as decoration above the doorway as well as on the ceiling and walls.

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.