Borromeo Palace — Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore
The Borromeo Palace on Isola Bella is a Baroque aristocratic residence and garden complex built by the Borromeo family on a small island in Lake Maggiore between 1632 and the early eighteenth century. Conceived by Count Carlo III Borromeo and continued by his son Vitaliano VI, the palace and its ten terraced gardens transformed a bare rocky islet into one of Italy’s most theatrical examples of garden design — a man-made pyramid of baroque terraces, fountains, ancient statuary, and rare plants rising from the lake like an anchored galleon. Today the island, palace, and gardens remain private property of the Borromeo family but are open to visitors as one of the most visited heritage sites on Lake Maggiore.
- Type
- Aristocratic palace and terraced garden complex
- Period
- Construction begun 1632 under Carlo III Borromeo; gardens largely completed by Vitaliano VI Borromeo, late 17th–early 18th century
- Style
- Italian Baroque; formal terraced garden (giardino all’italiana)
- Location
- Isola Bella, Lago Maggiore, 28838 Stresa VB
- Coordinates
- 45.8963° N, 8.5262° E
- Architects
- Carlo Fontana (attributed for garden design); Angelo Crivelli (palace)
- Current use
- Private residence of the Borromeo family; open to the public as a museum and garden; boat access from Stresa
Overview
Isola Bella — “Beautiful Island” — sits in the Piedmontese arm of Lake Maggiore, a few hundred metres from the town of Stresa. The island measures roughly 320 metres by 180 metres and is almost entirely occupied by the palace, its service buildings, and the ten-terrace garden that rises to a height of 37 metres above the lake. The result is a theatrical composition of classical and baroque elements — loggias, obelisks, grottos lined with tufa and pebble mosaics, white peacocks, and thousands of rare botanical specimens — that has drawn artists, writers, and travellers since the seventeenth century.
History
The island was acquired by the Borromeo family in the sixteenth century. In 1632 Count Carlo III Borromeo began the ambitious project of reshaping it into a residence befitting one of northern Italy’s most powerful noble dynasties. Work accelerated under his son Vitaliano VI, who engaged the finest craftsmen available to complete the palace interiors — decorated with Flemish tapestries, Renaissance paintings, and carved marble — and to lay out the baroque garden terraces that define the island’s silhouette. Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in the palace in 1797 during his Italian campaign, an episode that added a historical footnote to its aristocratic pedigree.
What you see
Visitors enter through the palace’s grand rooms, hung with Flemish tapestries and furnished with baroque furniture, then descend into the six underground grottos whose walls are encrusted with pebble mosaics, coloured stones, and shell-work in an ornate rocaille style unique in northern Italy. The ten garden terraces are planted with camellias, azaleas, citrus trees, and exotic shrubs against a backdrop of classical statues, obelisks, and fountain basins. The uppermost terrace is crowned by a dramatic group sculpture of a unicorn surmounted by the Borromeo coat of arms.
Cultural significance
Isola Bella is among the most complete surviving examples of seventeenth-century Italian Baroque garden design, in which nature was subordinated entirely to architectural will. Its influence on European garden taste was immediate and lasting, and it has been painted by Turner, described by Stendhal, and cited in virtually every survey of Italian garden history. The island’s continuous ownership by the Borromeo family — one of Italy’s oldest dynasties — means the palace retains its original furnishings and art collections intact, a rarity among Italian aristocratic houses.
Practical information
The palace and gardens are open from late March to late October; check the official Borromeo islands website for exact dates and admission prices. Combined tickets covering Isola Bella and the nearby Isola Madre are available. Photography without flash is permitted in most areas. The island can become very crowded in high summer; morning visits are recommended.
Getting there
Regular boat ferries depart from Stresa harbour (approximately 10 minutes) and from Baveno; Navigazione Laghi operates scheduled services throughout the day. Stresa is reached by train from Milan (Centrale or Porta Garibaldi) in approximately 1 hour 20 minutes on the Domodossola line. No private motor boats are permitted to dock at Isola Bella.