Tuesday 17 May 2011

Isola Bella - Stresa


Hello all,

I was visiting Milan for couple of days and with this occasion i planned a short visit (1 day) to Lago Maggiore and its surroundings.
Isola Bella is one of the islands part of Lago Maggiore, in north Italy, very close to town of Stresa. The lake has 2 more islands: Isola Madre and Isola Superiore.

Isola Bella is fully occupied by Palazzo Borromeo and its gardens. You can arrive to the island with regular ferry service from Stresa, Laveno, Pallanza and Intra.
From Milan you can arrive by car to Stresa and it takes 1 hour, maximum 1 ½ hours. Also, you can take the bus or go by train.
The ferry does not costs more than 10 euro per trip and you can plan an excursion that contains all 3 islands. The entrance to the palace and gardens costs 12.50 euro and a tour to all 3 islands costs 21 euros.

Borromeo palace is one of the most amazing palace i have ever seen. Let me tell you a little about it:

The island and the palace were realized at the order of Count Carlo of Borromeo (who belonged to one of the most influential and richest family of that time) and was dedicated to his wife, Isabella D'Adda. From here comes the name: Isabella (Isola Bella). Due to several reasons, the creation of the island and palace was not finalized under the count guidance and was passed to Carlo’s sons, Cardinal Giberto III  and Vitaliano VI.
Some of the famous guests of the islands were Napoleon Bonaparte and  Joséphine de Beauharnais and also Caroline of Brunswick, the Princess of Wales.
Only in 1632 the actual construction of the baroque palace and gardens begun.


One of the most impressive room is the amazing mosaic room made with volcanic rocks.


Besides the palace, another point of interest are the extraordinary gardens. You can find here many types of flowers, exotic ones, orange or lemon trees and so many more. There is also a small cafe if you would like to have a short Italian espresso.
Inside the palace you can find a room for weapons, a room for medals, a music room and also a room dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte.


If it was up to me, each time i would find myself close to Milan i would also plan a 1 day visit to the magic place.

No comments:

Post a Comment