Isola Bella description and photos - Italy: Lake Maggiore (Topic)

Isola Bella description and photos - Italy: Lake Maggiore. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. Name in English - Isola Bella.

Photo and description

Isola Bella, whose name from Italian means "beautiful island", is part of the Borromean archipelago, a group of islands located on Lake Maggiore. This tiny piece of land, only 320 meters long and 400 meters wide, lies opposite the city of Stresa. Almost the entire territory of the "beautiful island" is occupied by the luxurious Palazzo Borromeo and an extensive park.

For the first time, the European aristocracy drew attention to this rocky islet in 1632, when Charles III, a member of the Borromeo family, decided to build a country residence on it for his wife Isabella. The first architect of the palace was Angelo Crivelli from Milan, who also designed the garden. And Carlo Fontana was already finishing the construction and arrangement of the interior - by that time the island was in the hands of the sons of Carlo, Giberto and Vitaliano. Already in the 18th century, Isola Bella with her Palazzo attracted eminent guests from all over Europe - Napoleon and Josephine, English lords and Russian princes were here. They say that Caroline of Braunschweig, Queen of England, literally fell in love with these places and begged the Borromeo family to sell her the island, but received a firm refusal.

Today, the Palazzo Borromeo, made in the Lombard Baroque style, is occupied by a museum. The halls of the palace bearing iconic names - the Napoleon Room, the Tapestry Room, the Luca-Giordano Room, are decorated with paintings, sculptures and antique furniture. The lower tier is notable for six artificial grottoes, which are decorated with shells.

The spacious park around the Palazzo, inaugurated in 1671, consists of English and Italian gardens. The latter is a platform of ten terraces, decorated with niches, fountains, statues, etc. At the very top of the platform, at a height of 34 meters, there is a unicorn - a symbol of the noble Borromeo family.

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Topic: Isola Bella description and photos - Italy: Lake Maggiore.