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 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. 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 ...

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. 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 f ...

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 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 Lis ...

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 The Borromean Islands (It. ''Isole Borromee'') are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania to the north and Stresa to the south. Together totalling ...

. Until its May 2021 crash, the Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone Cable Car offered a 20-minute ride to the summit of Monte Mottarone, with the Giardino Botanico Alpinia en route. Eurocity services connect to Milano, Berne and Geneva.

Main sights

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 1797 Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered ...

and today it houses the International Centre for Rosminian Studies. *

Villa 'Orto A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

, 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 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 Giuseppe Zanoia (1752–1817) was an Italian Neoclassical architect who is remembered for his Porta Nuova in Milan. He also collaborated on the Neogothic design of Milan's Duomo. Biography A canon at Milan's Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, he also ...

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 disc ...

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 * ...

'' ('' Blessed Are the Rich'') (1972) by Salvatore Samperi, 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'' (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 Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

The Bishop's Bedroom ''The Bishop's Bedroom'' ( it, La stanza del vescovo) is an Italian thriller-drama film directed by Dino Risi adapted from the novel of the same name by Piero Chiara. It stars Ugo Tognazzi, Ornella Muti and Patrick Dewaere. Supporting actors includ ...

'' (''

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 ''Figure ...

'') (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 b ...

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 Mario Mattoli (; 30 November 1898 – 26 February 1980) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966. His 1939 film ''Defendant, Stand Up!'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy ...

, ''

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 professio ...

, ''

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 ...

'' (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 tw ...

. (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