Stresa is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of

Lake 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 ...

in the

province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian: ''Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola'' ) is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the Pr ...

in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, about northwest of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. It is situated on road and rail routes to the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (french: Col du Simplon; german: Simplonpass; it, Passo del Sempione, Lombard: ''Pass del Sempiün'') () is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of ...

History

The name of the town first appeared in documents on January 15, AD 998 as "STRIXSYA". Later "STREXIA", "STREXA", and "STRESIA" were also used.. In the 15th century, it grew into a fishing community and owed feudal allegiance to the House of

Visconti of Milan The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the ...

. It subsequently came under the control of 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 ...

. In 1948 American author and journalist

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

visited the town. He had set part of his 1929 novel '' Farewell to Arms'' in the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees. In 2002, Stresa hosted the 10th International Hemingway Conference. Stresa has played host to a number of political conferences in the 20th century, including in: *1935: the UK,

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

re-affirm the

Treaty of Locarno The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central a ...

and agree to form the Stresa front to combat and contain

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. *1958: the foundations of what would become Europe's

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...

of the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

were formulated in Stresa. Stresa is also the venue for the "Settimane Musicali"; an international classical music festival which is held annually in the summer.

Transport

Regular boat services from the town's two docks provide access to the nearby Borromean Islands. Until its May 2021 crash, the Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone Cable Car offered a 20-minute ride to the summit of

Monte Mottarone Mottarone is a mountain in the Western Alps of Piedmont, north-western Italy, with an elevation of 1,492 m. It is located between the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and that of Novara. Geography The peak is in the communal territory of ...

, with the Giardino Botanico Alpinia en route. Eurocity services connect to Milano, Berne and Geneva.

Main sights

* Borromean Islands near Stresa are major points of interest and can be seen from Stresa. *Villa Ducale, commissioned by Giacomo Filippo Bolongaro and dating from about 1770. In 1848 the villa passed to the Italian philosopher

Antonio Rosmini-Serbati Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered th ...

and today it houses the International Centre for Rosminian Studies. * Villa 'Orto, built in 1900. It was commissioned by the painter Liberto Dell'Orto and designed by Boffi. * The large Villa Pallavicino, between Stresa and

Belgirate Belgirate is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about south of Verbania. Belgirate borders the following municipalities: Besozzo, Brebbia, ...

. It was the inspiration of

Ruggero Bonghi Ruggero Bonghi (20 March 1826 – 22 October 1895) was an Italian scholar, writer and politician. Ruggero Bonghi was born in Naples and after being widowed his mother remarried in 1840 to Saverio Baldacchini, a major influence on Bonghi. Exi ...

in the 1850s and now is the site of a zoological park. * Church of Saints Ambrogio and Theodul (restored in Neoclassical style by Giuseppe Zanoia in 1790)

Famous buildings of Stresa in movies

*Villa Castelli, location of the

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

Beati i ricchi ''Beati i ricchi'' (''Blessed Are the Rich'') is a 1972 Italian comedy film written and directed by Salvatore Samperi. Cast * Paolo Villaggio as Augusto * Lino Toffolo as Geremia * Sylva Koscina as the Countess * Piero Vida as the Priest * Eu ...

'' ('' Blessed Are the Rich'') (1972) by

Salvatore Samperi Salvatore Samperi (26 July 1944 – 4 March 2009) was an Italian film director. His 1973 film ''Malicious (1973 film), Malicious'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film ''Ernesto (film), Ernesto' ...

, the

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

horror ''

Ho incontrato un'ombra Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to: People Language and ethnicity * Ho people, an ethnic group of India ** Ho language, a tribal language in India * Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam * Hiri Mo ...

'' (1974) by

Daniele D'Anza Daniele D'Anza (20 April 1922 – 12 April 1984) was an Italian director, playwright and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Milan, D'Anza started his career on stage, in which he is best known for the direction of the antimilitarist play '' ...

, the thriller '' The Bishop's Bedroom'' (''

La stanza del vescovo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'') (1977) by

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...

and the

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

'' (2014) by

Eugène Green Eugène Green (born 28 June 1947) is a U.S.-born French film-maker and dramatist. He is notable as an educator, training a generation of young actors in the revival of French baroque theatre technique and declamation. Films * 2001 : ''Toutes ...

. *Hotel Regina Palace, location of ''

Totò al giro d'Italia ''Toto Tours Italy'' ( it, Totò al giro d'Italia) is a 1948 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Totò. The film features cameos of famous cyclists and other sportsmen of the time: Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Fiorenzo Magn ...

'' (1948) by Mario Mattoli, ''

Miss Italia Miss Italia is a beauty pageant awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from Italy. Since the first edition of the contest in 1939 many of the contestants have gone on to notable careers in television and film. History The forer ...

'' (1950) by

Duilio Coletti Duilio Coletti (28 December 1906 – 22 May 1999) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 29 films between 1934 and 1977. Career Born in Penne, Abruzzo, he took a degree in medicine and surgery and practiced the profess ...

, ''

Grand Hotel Excelsior ''Grand Hotel Excelsior'' is a 1982 Italian comedy film directed by Castellano & Pipolo. The film was a commercial success, being the best grossing film in the season 1982/83 at the Italian box office. Plot Four funny characters are working in ...

'' (1982) by

Castellano & Pipolo Castellano & Pipolo is the stage name used by the pair of Italian screenwriters and film directors Franco Castellano (1925–1999) and Giuseppe Moccia (1933–2006). Together, they wrote the screenplays for about seventy films, and directed twe ...

. (Information from the '' Dizionario del Turismo Cinematografico'')

Stresa in fiction

* ''Good Blood'' by Aaron Elkins (2004), Berkley Prime Crime,

References

External links

Official site

Visit Stresa
– tourist information {{Authority control Populated places on Lake Maggiore Stresa