The Borromean Islands and Stresa
In the shorter arm of Lake Maggiore, the so-called "Gulf Borromeo", is the celebrated group of the three "Borromean Islands", still owned by the family that gave them the name.Isola Madre is, as the name reveals, the largest of the islands. At the palace that rises worked on major artists, as Pellegrino Tibaldi. Opened in 1978, is furnished with antique furniture, and exhibits a wonderful collection of theaterspuppets.The famous English botanical garden (which is part of the "Great Italian Gardens"),offers a varied collection of plants, including trees, like the cypress of Kashmir.The Isola Bella is the most conspicuous and "representation" of the islands.It was purchased by Carlo Borromeo in the first half of the seventeenth century, but it was his children to create the wonder that we admire baroque, defined as "an imaginary ship in blue waters of the lake. "Inside, golden moldings and furniture inlaid with precious stones in several successive rooms, the paintings includes works by Luca Giordano and the Storm. Unique six "Caves" (rooms lined with pebbles from the lake) and the gallery of Flemish tapestries, remained miraculously intact.The Italian Garden (also part of the Great Italian Gardens), consisting of ten sloping terraces, maintained his magnificent seventeenth-century plan.Rare plants and beautiful white peacocks complete the decor of this place delight and freshness.The Fisherman's Island owes its name to the work of its inhabitants. Its charm is in the home small and narrow, winding streets: in short, a small village in miniature! It's a great place to relax and enjoy the fish in one of the many restaurants along the shore,also offer traditional recipes such as risotto Borromea, baked whitefish,appetizers of fish from the lake ...Do not miss a stop at the town of Stresa, the famous holiday resort that is located facing the islands. A walk along the lake to admire the many hotels of the era, such as "Des iles Borromées" where famous people have stayed as D'Annunzio, Hemingway, Stendhal and Queen Victoria of England.It is a must stop in a bakery to buy the "Daisies" cookies created in 1858 for the future Queen of Italy, Margherita, who villeggiò to Stresa for decades.