Name: Isola Bella
Address: Lake Maggiore Piedmont, Verbania, IT

Castles & palaces ·Verbania ·Closed

4.52.0K

#7Things to do in Lake Maggiore PiedmontTravelers' Choice 2025

Make a plan here

Directions Bookmark

About

Isola Bella is a Borromean island in Lake Maggiore, 400 metres from Stresa, with Palazzo Borromeo and its terraced gardens.

More photos 6

1 / 6

Palazzo Borromeo’s rooms contain murals, paintings by master artists and tapestries featuring the Borromeo unicorn.
Ten pyramid-shaped garden terraces rise to 37 metres, with statues, exotic plants and an orangery.
The upper gardens, called the amphitheatre, include the site of Borromeo family performances.

Today10:00 – 18:00Show all

Monday10:00 – 18:00

Tuesday10:00 – 18:00

Wednesday10:00 – 18:00

Thursday10:00 – 18:00

Friday10:00 – 18:00

Saturday10:00 – 18:00

Sunday10:00 – 18:00

Palazzo Borromeo’s tapestriesLook for the unicorn repeated in the tapestries; it is an emblem of the Borromeo family.Palazzo Borromeo
Shell grottoesSee grottoes decorated with shells and light and dark stone.Palazzo Borromeo’s lower level
Ten garden terracesThe pyramid-shaped terraces rise to 37 metres and include statues of mythical figures and animals.The gardens
AmphitheatreThe upper garden is called the amphitheatre; Borromeo family performances were held there.Upper gardens
OrangeryFind the small orangery among the gardens’ exotic plants, trees and fruit varieties.The gardens

Know before you go What's inside

Palazzo Borromeo’s reception rooms and bedrooms date from the 17th to 19th centuries.
The palace’s lower level contains shell grottoes and cellars decorated with pebbles.

1/2

Its palace cellars are decorated with pebbles.
Isola Bella - Wikipedia
The island hosts one of Italy’s two colonies of the rare, protected bat species Myotis capaccinii.
Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore) - Wikipedia

Before construction began, the lower island was a rocky rise with a small fishing village.

11th c.The church of San Vittore was already on the island.
1632Carlo III Borromeo began building a palace for his wife, Isabella D’Adda, and Angelo Crivelli oversaw the palace project and the gardens’ basic design.
c. 1652After an epidemic interrupted construction, Carlo III’s sons completed the work.
1671The palace was inaugurated and the terraced gardens opened.
1797Napoleon visited the island; Caroline of Brunswick also stayed there in 1797 and 1805.

Show all

1935The palace hosted the Stresa Conference, where Mussolini, Pierre Laval and Ramsay MacDonald met.

Where

Lake Maggiore Piedmont

How invme works

See who's going — faces, not ticket counts.
Write to someone who shares your interests — no swipes, no matches, no paywall.
Pick the event or the place to meet at — and go together.

Comment Share