Lago Maggiore

I’m always a bit skeptical when hotels include breakfast for an additional fee, as the price / quality relationship never seems to work in your favor. This hotel, however, definitely gave us our money’s worth, with a lakeside buffet breakfast (visible in the foreground in the picture below) the that included a fantastic view.

Our first stop on Sunday was the Chiesa di San Gottardo, a 14th century church in the hills above Carmine Superiore (just south of Cannobio). To get to the church, we had to park just off the main lakeside road (kind of like parking along PCH in Malibu) and hike up a steep trail for about 15 minutes.

 

The church offered a panoramic view of Lake Maggiore and the surroundinging area. It was a nice reward given the effort required, particularly since the church didn’t open for another hour. Fortunately, there was a window that allowed us get a peek at the inside.

There was a small group of old houses adjacent to the church. I was going to refer to them as a small village, but that would be a drastic overstatement (see below -- here’s one of the main “roads”). I presume the houses are accessible from the mountain-side as I couldn't imaging being a resident and having to hike up /down every day.

While hiking back down we passed the following property trhat was for sale. And while I don’t speak Italian, I think the “Terrano con Rustico” description on the sign seems to be spot on. But at least the view was spectacular.

 

It was very warm at this point, so before heading to our next (scheduled) destination we stopped briefly in Canero Riviera. The town has a very nice lakefront, with some restaurants with outdoor patios.

Our next stop was the Sacro Monte di Ghiffa, a “devotional complex” in the hills above Ghiffa that was built during the 17^th century. It consisted of a number of chapels and also had a beautiful panoramic view. Unlike with the Chiesa di San Gottardo, this time we were able to drive to the top. This was much appreciated given the mid-day heat.

For our final visit of the day we went to the Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto in Verbania. It’s a botanical garden established by a Scotsman during the 1930s (it was a wise choice to go with “Villa Taranto” rather than “Villa McEacharn”). And while by this point I was a bit overloaded with visits to gardens, I can definitely say that it was actually very nice.

 

 

Before driving home we stopped in Verbania for a late lunch. I didn’t notice the tiny car in the following picture when I took it, but I like the contrast it provides with the massive belltower in the background.

Isole Borromee – Part I

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On Saturday we awoke to beautiful weather. Here’s the view of Lake Maggiore from our hotel room.

The room itself was very nice as well, though we wouldn't be spending much time in it aside from when going to bed.

We started the day by walking along Cannobio’s lakefront and taking in the main sights such has the “harbor,” the lakefront buildings (a few of which date back 600 years) and the Santuario della Pietà church.

 

Here’s a shot looking back at our hotel – it’s the red-colored building on the right.

After finishing up our brief tour of Cannobio, we drove down to see the Isole Borromee – a group of islands in Lake Maggiore named after the family that began to acquire them in the 1600s. They are accessible by boat via Stresa, a town 45 minutes south of Cannobio.

The first island that we visited was Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman’s Island), which not surprisingly began as a fishing village. To be honest, it felt like a bit of a tourist trap, particularly given the relatively small size (100m x 350m) and masses of people who had come to the island to eat at one of the many fish restaurants.

That said, there were some interesting sights, including the San Vittore Church (one of the chapels dates back to the 9^th century) and the adjacent cemetery.

Next we visited Isola Bella, which is home to the Palazzo Borromeo and its adjacent gardens. The palace and gardens were constructed during the 17^th century and upon completion served as the site of various parties and theatrical events for the European nobility over the years.

 

The palace tour was relatively quick but nonetheless interesting. The subterranean “grotto” rooms definitely stood out the most, with their detailed stone work. They also offered a respite from the hot mid-day sun.

The gardens required far more time and I thought that they were definitely the highlight of the island. They were heavily manicured with some interesting structures, fountains and statues.

While the island is technically uninhabited, this local resident made his presence felt.

Isole Borromee – Part II

We then took a boat to Isola Madre, which is the largest of the Borromeo Islands and is home to another Borromeo family palace and surrounding gardens. As with Isola Bella, the gardens were definitely the highlight of the visit.

A massive 200 year old Kashmir Cypress (supposedly the largest in Europe) is perhaps the most prominent feature of the gardens. It was blown over during a freak storm in 2006 and since then has been the subject of an extensive rescue effort.

It looks a bit odd from this angle, which shows most of the damage incurred during the storm, but the pre-storm pictures were pretty impressive (I unfortunately didn’t take a photo, nor could I find one on line).

And here are some of the Isola Madre’s local residents.

 

After our island tour, we took a boat back to Stresa to visit the city a bit before heading back to Cannobio. Here’s a shot of the exclusive Grand Hotel.

This dog caught my attention as he seemed to be by himself and was thoroughly focused on one thing in particular…the ice cream shop in the adjacent picture. Though I didn’t see anyone buy him an ice cream, from the looks of him I wouldn't be surprised if he’s able to get a tourist to buy him one on occasion.

After returning to Cannobio, we walked around a bit through the narrow streets just off the lakefront.

 

 

We then walked back down to the lake, where I took this photo. I like the view with Switzerland and the Alps in the background.

We had dinner at a restaurant on the lakefront. The view from the terrace was very nice, particularly after sunset as the lake and the sky seemed to be the same color.