Sights in Lago Maggiore
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Sancarlone
It was in Arona (population 14,370), 20km south of Stresa, that the son of the Count of Arona and Margherita de’ Medici, who would go on to become San Carlo Borromeo (1538–84), was born. His birthplace, the Rocca Borromea castle, was later destroyed by Napoleon. But Arona’s saint is far from forgotten: in addition to a church and several chapels, the hill dedicated to him bears the revered religious monument, Sancarlone. Erected between 1614 and 1698, the 35m bronze-and-copper statue can be climbed, affording a spectacular view from the top.
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Monastery of Santa Caterina del Sasso
The Monastery of Santa Caterina del Sasso is one of the most spectacularly located places in northern Italy. Clinging to the high rocky face of this southeast shore of Lake Maggiore, about 13km north of Angera, it is reached by a spiralling stairway (a lift is being built too) from 60m above. The church is actually the cobbling together of a series of 13th- and 14th-century chapels to form an oddly shaped whole, and is filled with a carnival of frescoes.
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Villa Taranto
Verbania Pallanza is a interesting district, with a tight web of lanes in its old centre and, the city’s highlight, the grounds of the late-19th-century Villa Taranto. In 1931, royal archer and Scottish captain Neil McEacharn bought the villa from the Savoy family. He planted some 20,000 species over 30 years, and today it is considered one of Europe’s finest botanical gardens. Boats stop at Pallanza and at the landing stage in front of the villa.
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Museo della Bambola
The imposing medieval hilltop fortress, the Rocca di Angera, houses the 12-room Museo della Bambola, displaying the Borromeo family’s priceless collection of dolls.
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Funivia Stresa-Mottarone
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