Lago Maggiore Highlights

Lake Maggiore Essentials

Lake Maggiore spans the border of Italy and Switzerland, characterized by the Borromean Islands' Baroque architecture and elaborate terraced gardens. Significant landmarks include the 12th-century Santa Caterina del Sasso monastery built into a rock face, the 35-meter Sancarlone statue, and the medieval Rocca di Angera. The Swiss northern shore features the 220-meter Verzasca Dam and the pilgrimage site of Madonna del Sasso overlooking Locarno.

Daderot / Public domain

Palazzo Borromeo

17th-century Baroque palace featuring ornate shell-covered grottoes, a gallery of Flemish tapestries, and historical rooms that once hosted Napoleon Bonaparte.

Giardini dell'Isola Bella

Ten-tiered Italianate gardens featuring a stone amphitheater, statues of mythological figures, and roaming white peacocks set against a backdrop of the Alps.

Geobia / CC0

Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rock

The Madonna del Sasso is a Marian Pontifical shrine in Orselina, above the city of Locarno in Switzerland.

Daderot / Public domain

Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto

The Giardini Botanici Villa Taranto are botanical gardens located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Pallanza, Province of Verbano…

Bruteforce7 / Public domain

Santa Caterina del Sasso

Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso is a Roman Catholic monastery located in the municipality of Leggiuno, in the Province of Varese and…

Martin Abegglen / CC BY-SA 3.0

Verzasca Dam

The Contra Dam, commonly known as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam, is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino,…

Phyrexian / Public domain

Rocca Borromeo di Angera

The Rocca Borromeo di Angera, or Rocca d'Angera, also called Borromeo Castle, is a rocca on a hilltop above the town of Angera in the…

Sygic Travel User / CC-BY-SA

Ascona

Swiss lakeside town featuring a Mediterranean-style promenade and the historic Monte Verità hilltop, known for its early 20th-century artistic and philosophical colony.

MOs810 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Mottarone

Mottarone is a mountain in the Western Alps of Piedmont, north-western Italy, with an elevation of 1,492 metres.

Isola Superiore

Also known as Isola dei Pescatori, this is the only Borromean island with a permanent population. It is characterized by narrow medieval streets and traditional fishing heritage.

Isola Madre

Site of an extensive English-style botanical garden and a 16th-century palace. The grounds are known for exotic birds and rare plant species, including a massive Kashmir cypress.

Pfloriginale / CC BY-SA 3.0

Sancarlone

The San Carlone or Sancarlone or the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo is a massive copper statue by Giovanni Battista Crespi, erected…

Rocca Vitaliana

16th-century fortification ruins located on small rocky islets. Built by the Borromeo family to replace an earlier castle used by the outlawed Mazzarditi brothers.