What to see and what to do in Major Lake

Tiny, facing the lakefront of Pallanza, very close to shore. The palazzo Borromeo resembles that of the Mother island. The conductor Arturo Toscanini resided here from 1927 to 1952.

The villa, now seat of the Prefecture, cannot be visited but the gardens are famous throughout the world. Made in the thirties, it contains a huge variety of plants and trees. Wonderful to visit all year round.

It was built by the Branca family in '900 and underwent several renovations and expansions. In the middle of the last century it became the Municipal Casino Kursaal. A curious structure that is used for exhibitions with a beautiful view.

Church of the '600 with a Romanesque bell tower of the original building of the '100. Inside a beautiful wooden choir, paintings and beautiful frescos by Alessandro Mentasti.

An old Romanesque church of the '100, built of stone blocks. A national monument, it preserves beautiful paintings inside. The building is a suggestive place.

This is located in Gignese near Stresa and contains a wonderful collection of umbrellas and parasols including a detailed history of the many families from the Gignese are who build them.

Isola dei Pescatori is the third island among the Borromean Island inhabited all year round though unlike the other two it no longer belongs to the Borromeo family. It’s commonly known for its traditional fishing practice.

This is the largest island of the three borromean islands and is occupied by a number of architectural structures and its famously known for its gardens. The island has a magical atmosphere with immense garden of exotic and rare trees where pheasants and peacocks wander.

This is a natural treasure made even better through human intervention and provides its visitors unparalleled view of Lake Maggiore. Dominated by its sumptuous baroque palace together with luxuriant Italian-style garden makes the island stands out as one of the tourist favorite destination. The gardens are stretched out on ten terraces and open to its visitors including the splendidly furnished rooms and magnificent salons embroidered with priceless artworks.

Villa Pallavicino is a 19th century villa, surrounded by landscaped parkland containing beautiful flowers, plants and trees with a small zoo.

The eighteenth-century palazzo Borromeo houses the Museum of the Historic and Artistic Verbano and of the Landscape, with a collection of paintings and frescoes from '500 to '900.

In the millennial abbey of Novalesa since 2009, the Archaeological Museum exhibits most of the finds that emerged from the excavation campaigns conducted from 1978 to today, as well as two sections dedicated to monastic history and to restoration of the book. The first room is dedicated to the restoration of the book, art still practiced today in the laboratory attached to the abbey, and illustrates the types of writer supports, the evolution of writing, the techniques of engraving and press, and restoration. The same room also houses the section dedicated to the history of monasticism and monastic life. In the third room there is the largest number of artifacts, grouped according to chronology: fragments of statues, funeral inscriptions, parts of sarcophagi and architectural elements, everyday objects and fragments of fresco pictorial decorations assigned to the intervention of Tolosan Anthoyne de Lhonye.

The Landscape Museum is a cultural institution deeply linked to the territory of Lake Maggiore and its back valleys. The main exhibition venue of the Museum is Palazzo Viani Dugnani in Verbania Pallanza, it houses the Troubetzkoy Gipsoteca, the sculpture collection, the Pinacoteca and temporary exhibitions.