The Borromean Islands (It. ''Isole Borromee'') are a group of three small

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s and two

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

s in the Italian part of

Lago Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

, located in the western arm of the lake, between

Verbania Verbania (, , ) is the most populous ''comune'' (municipality) and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about north-west of Milan and ab ...

to the north and

Stresa Stresa is a town and ''comune'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simpl ...

to the south. Together totalling just in area, they are a major local tourist attraction for their picturesque setting. Their name derives from the

Borromeo family ), type=Noble family, country=, estates= Rocca d'Angera Palazzo Borromeo, Milan Castel of Peschiera BorromeoBorromean Islands Villa Borromeo, Arcore, titles=* Prince of Angera * Marquess of Romagnano * Count of Arona * Count of Peschiera * Lord ...

, which started acquiring them in the early 16th century (Isola Madre) and still owns the majority of them (Isola Madre, Bella, San Giovanni) today. # Isola Bella, named for Isabella, countess Borromeo, was originally a largely barren rock; after first improvements and buildings, opened by count Carlo III between 1629 and 1652, his son Vitaliano the 6th built an attractive summer palace, bringing in vast quantities of soil in order to build up a system of ten terraces for the garden. The unfinished building displays paintings by Lombard artists and

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

tapestries. #

Isola Madre Isola Madre, at 220 m wide and 330 m long, is the largest island of the Isole Borromee archipelago which falls within the Italian part of the Alpine Lake Maggiore, in the Province of Verbano Cusio Ossola, Piedmont. The island is occupied by a nu ...

, the largest of the three, is also noted for its gardens, which have been maintained since about 1823 in an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

style. Its palace, though uninhabited, is splendidly furnished with 16th- to 19th-century Italian masterpieces and paintings. #

Isola dei Pescatori Isola dei Pescatori (meaning Fishermen's Island) is an island in Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. As the most northerly of the three principal Borromean Islands it is also known as Isola Superiore and, with a population of 25 in 2018, it is the ...

or Isola Superiore is now the only inhabited island in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

. It has a fishing village, which in 1971 had a population of 208. #

Isolino di San Giovanni The Isolino di San Giovanni is a small island belonging to the Borromean group of Lake Maggiore, one of the main subalpine lakes of northern Italy. It is situated some way to the north of the others in the group, 30 metres west of the shoreline o ...

is located just off Pallanza (today part of

) to the north. #The tiny uninhabited rock of Malghera, with an area of only 200 square meters, lies between Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori and offers bushy vegetation and a small beach

File:Isola Bella-approdo.jpg, Isola Bella File:Isola Superiore.jpg,

File:Isola Madre.jpg,

File:Isole Borromee.svg, Map

External links

Official Tourism Gateway
Lake Maggiore Official Tourism Gateway * http://www.verbanensia.org/biografie_details.asp?bID=532&action=B&tipo=2 * http://www.verbanensia.org/archivio_details.asp?archID=1461 * http://www.verbanensia.org/loca_select.asp?tipo=1
Isola Superiore
Isola Superiore on Lake Maggiore - Tourist Guide.
Isola Bella
Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore - Tourist Guide.

from The Official Tourism Gateway of Lake Maggiore.

from The Official Tourism Gateway of Lake Maggiore. {{authority control Islands of Piedmont Islands of Lake Maggiore in Italy House of Borromeo Archipelagoes of Italy

See also

External links