Fairy island bella in italy. Borromean Palace

Isola Bella is one of the most famous baroque palace and park ensembles in the world. They were admired by different people like Stendhal and Dickens, Napoleon and Josephine stayed here, the Stresa Conference was held here, during which England, France and Italy still tried to save Europe from Hitler ... And here you can also look at unicorns and white peacocks.

Until about 1630, Isola Bella (then called simply "lower" as opposed to the nearby "upper") had only a small fishing village. Its transformation into a beautiful palace and park ensemble began in 1632, when Count Carlo III Borromeo decided to build a residence here. He then renamed the island. It turned out a beautiful play on words - Isola Bella in Italian means " beautiful island"and at the same time consonant with the name of the wife of Charles III - Isabella.

View from the palace to the pier and the "upper island", which is now called the "Island of the Fishermen".

Due to the plague, the construction of the palace on the island was interrupted and resumed only by the sons of Charles III. The gardens were opened only in 1671, already under his grandson - Charles IV.

Engraving depicting an already completed palace and park ensemble Isola Bella. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any dating, but judging by the “peisans” in the foreground, it looks like the middle of the 18th century.

The palace and the park adjacent to it were conceived as a single ensemble resembling a fantastic ship. The palace was assigned the narrowest part of the island - the "bow of the ship". The gardens were laid out on the wide southern part - "the stern of the ship".

In order to complete the construction of the gardens, it was necessary to destroy the church, located on the very high point islands. Instead, in 1665, a new church was laid, dedicated to Sts. Victor and Karl. This church has survived to this day.

Church of St. Victor and Karl.

The palace and park ensemble on Isola Bella was completed and rebuilt until the middle of the twentieth century. Among the "finishing touches" inflicted by Prince Vitaliano X is the construction northern facade palace and marina in the northern part of the island (1948-1958).

Photo by Isola Bella 1890

Photo source: Library of Congress website.

Now there is a pier and a pier in front of the palace.

In the baroque palace, still owned by the Borromeo family, visitors are shown the halls on the ground floor and the grotto. Tour guides say that family members live on the upper floors, who still use the villa as summer residence. It is believed, however, weakly - who wants to share their country cottage area with a crowd of tourists is not entirely clear.

Pier in front of the Borromeo Palace, to which boats with tourists constantly moor.

In the palace you can see paintings by famous artists, sculptures, antique furniture and even Flemish tapestries of the 15th century.

Hall of tapestries.

Big hall. This hall was built in the middle of the 20th century, but according to the original plan of the 17th century.

Library. Books are transferred here for the summer from the main Borromeo library "for entourage" - in fact, this is only a drop in the family collection.

The puppets on display for tourists are also only a small part of the collection belonging to the Borromeo family.

Grotto. The walls of the grotto are decorated with real shells and pebbles.

Entrance to the chapel.

Music salon. Here in April 1935 the Stresa Conference was held. As a result of this conference, British Prime Minister James MacDonald, French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and Italian leader Benito Mussolini confirmed the sanctions envisaged by the League of Nations and directed against Germany in case of aggression on its part. The Stresa Front, however, collapsed already in the year of its creation, but that is a completely different story.

Isola Bella Gardens is considered one of the most grandiose and well-preserved Italian Baroque parks.

It is a single ensemble of pyramidal shape, the top of which is a statue of a unicorn saddled by Cupid.

The unicorn, by the way, is one of the heraldic symbols of the Borromeo family.

Image of the Borromeo coat of arms from the book "Famiglie notabili milanesi" (The Aristocratic Families of Milan), published in Milan, in 1881.

His image is often found in the design of the palace.

Unicorn in the design of the "Great Hall".

The park is divided into ten terraces, which gradually descend to the water. It is decorated with artificial ponds, fountains and many statues that have been preserved since the 17th century.

But the most interesting thing here is not architecture and exotic plants, but white peacocks that roam freely in the park.

References

Napoleon and Josephine, Stendhal and Dickens, Hemingway and Wordsworth, Byron and Mussolini admired this island. That's what it's called - Lovely Island". The name also contains a roll call with the name of the woman in whose honor it was decorated. Her name was Isabella d" Adda, she lived in the 17th century and was the wife of an influential Milanese aristocrat - Carlo Borromeo the Third. The Borromean dynasty is one of the most famous families northern Italy(along with Visconti and Sforza), and their descendants still own several islands on Lake Maggiore, castles and villas. The island of Isola Bella is small (320x400 m 2), but it is like a corner of paradise. Strictly speaking, this is paradise - private, which in our time can be visited by anyone.
The island has a palace with grottoes and a terraced park. According to the plan of Count Borromeo, they were supposed to form an ensemble in the form of an island-ship, but the palace was not fully completed. At first, the work carried out under the guidance of the architect Giovanni Angelo Crivelli in the 1630s stopped due to the plague that broke out in Milan, then the architect Carlo Fontana (already Vitalian VI Borromeo) resumed construction, but various historical circumstances prevented the full implementation of the project, in short, the palace acquired its final form only in 1959.

You can get to the island by boat (regular water communication from March to October).
boats and motor boats go from the town of Stresa, located on the shores of Lake Maggiore.
First, the boat goes around the island so that tourists can see it from all sides.

Our group is large, so we are being taken by two boats at once.

The archives of the US Library of Congress have several color photographs of Isola Bella from the 19th century,
You can also show a couple of them here (the previews are clickable).

Not far from Isola Bella is another Borromean island, Isola dei Pescatore

("Fishing Island"), Hemingway loved him very much.

Having examined the island of Isola Bella from the outside, we moor and go to the palace. Entrance fee is three times higher regular prices V state museums, there are almost no benefits, but this is the right of the owners, it is clear that huge funds are needed to maintain such real estate, thanks to the Borromeans for allowing them to inspect their family property at all. The palace on Isola Bella is notable for the room in which Napoleon stayed, as well as thematic grottoes, everything else - paintings, sculptures, furniture - is quite common for a small European castle. Still here (in the music room) in 1935, Mussolini met with Laval and MacDonald. It is forbidden to shoot in the palace, but many still try, I personally could not resist in the hall of Flemish tapestries with scenes depicting various fantastic creatures, including a unicorn - one of the heraldic animals of the Borromean house. I am not indifferent to unicorns, I have been collecting images with them for a long time...

I quickly ran around the palace, striving for freedom, for main pearl Isola Bella - park.
From the grottoes - up!

A majestic spectacle unfolds before your eyes.

Numerous allegorical and mythological statues, shells, flowers,
and other decorative elements form a large tiered composition of gray granite,
tuff, pebbles and limestone.
The building is crowned with a figure of a unicorn with Cupid on horseback.
Previously, Cupid held in his hand the motto of the Borromean family - the inscription "humilitas" ("humility"),
however, it has not reached our days, just as the gilding has not been preserved.
On the sides of the unicorn - Art and Nature,

there are figures representing the elements, the seasons and the wind,
and below, a small fountain and allegories of local rivers and Lake Maggiore.

Light backlight, and even a lot of people (the place is very popular),
so you have to choose tricky angles.

Having risen to the very top of the pyramid, you find yourself on an observation deck.
Small stone benches were placed near the parapet,
so that people can get up on them and inspect the surroundings.
And the surroundings are very picturesque!

Borromean Palace on Isola Bella.

In the picturesque foothills of the Alps, in northern Italy, is one of the most beautiful lakes on the ground - Lago Maggiore, or Big Lake. Its main attractions are the four islands that have long belonged to the noble Borromeo family - Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), Isola dei Pescatori ( Fisherman's Island), Isola Madre (Island of the Mother) and Isola San Giovanni (Island of St. John). Lake Maggiore - the second largest in Italy after Lake Garda - is a huge body of water at the foot of mountain ranges extending to the Swiss Alps.

The length of the lake is 65 km, maximum width- 4.5 km. On its banks grow camellias, azaleas and verbena, from which ancient lake and got its Roman name - Verbanus. The patron saint of the area is Cardinal Carlo Borromeo. Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore - pearls natural beauty enriched with the creations of architects and gardeners. Isola Bella is home to the 17th century Palazzo Borromeo with a delightful park, decorative terraces, fountains, peacocks, statues and grottoes. “If you have a heart and a shirt, sell the shirt and visit the surroundings of Lago Maggiore,” the great classic Stendhal advised to do so.

Due to the unusually pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, mild climate all year round, the lake has been a favorite vacation spot for Italians, British and Germans since ancient times.
Along the runs of Lago Maggiore there are many resort towns, ancient villas and temples, and botanical parks.

Bella Island is one of the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore. Located 400 meters from the city of Stresa. The island is very small, its length is 320 meters, width - 4000 meters. Almost all of its territory is occupied by the palace and the park located around it, which belonged to the influential Borromeo family. architectural structures on the island became famous after Charles III (1586-1652 - a representative of the Borromeo family), as a gift to his wife Isabella, built a palace on its territory. Since 1636, the island has received a name that has become a phonetically abbreviated union of two words: Island (island) and Isabella. The palace and park were built by Angelo Crivelli, Francesco Castelli and, from the end of the 17th century, by Carlo Fontana.

The Borromeo family came from Florence. Despite being expelled from the city (in 1370), at the end of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they were famous bankers in Milan and Venice. A prosperous financial position allowed family members to control a vast region, called the "State of Borromeo" in Lombardy. However, in the sixteenth century, fearing conflicts with the Sforza family ruling in Milan, the Medici (in Florence) and the Habsburg court, they left banking and lived (in the position of aristocrats) on the territory of their "state". Two representatives of the dynasty (San Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584) and his cousin Frederick (1564-1631)) served as archbishops in Milan. The motto of the family "Humilitas" (lat. humility) was very popular among the parishioners.

The landscape design of the garden made it possible to view the palace, the surrounding area and the lake from different points of view. The two upper terraces included large arches, from which paths radiated in different directions. The view from each terrace (which included its own collection of plants, emphasizing its uniqueness), was framed by statues and obelisks. All this created a certain intrigue of "species".

Most of the figures were made by the sculptor Carlo Simonetta (1662-1695). The central statue depicting a unicorn represented the heraldic symbol of the Borromeo family. Of the ten terraces, five overlook Lake Maggiore. In the eastern part of the garden there are large lawns with decorative plantings. In general, all landscape complex embodies the idea of baroque theatrical scenography.
Nowadays, for all those who travel around Italy, the island hosts an annual classical music festival.

Family Borromeo- a famous aristocratic family of Milan. Its representatives still play an important role in the city, as well as in the vicinity of Lago Maggiore. Among the famous representatives of this family, one can recall Saint Carlo Borromeo and Cardinal Federico Borromeo.

Until the end of the 14th century, the Borromeo family bore the surname "Vitaliani" and originated from Padua. The family deduces its origin (although there is no historical evidence for this) from the Christian martyr Justina of Padua, who, according to legend, was killed during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian in 303. In 1406 Vitaliano Vitaliani was adopted by his maternal uncle Giovanni Borromeo, who had no children. The condition of the adoption was that the adopted child would take the surname "Borromeo". Thus, he became the founder of the famous Milanese family, going down in history as Vitaliano I.

Giovanni Borromeo was a wealthy Milanese who was involved in trade and banking. The head office of the bank was in Venice, and its branches were in Milan, Rome, Bruges and London.

Vitaliano continued his uncle's work by opening two new branches of the bank in 1416 - in Burgos and in Barcelona. In 1418 he received Milanese citizenship and became treasurer of the Duchy of Milan.

In 1432, Vitaliano Borromeo built a palace outside the city (the current Borromeo Castle in Peschiera Borromeo). Between 1439 and 1440, Filippo Maria Visconti bestowed various lands on Vitaliano, including Arona on Lake Maggiore, and in 1445 Vitaliano Borromeo was made a count through this possession. Being a favorite of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, Vitaliano received various lands in the Lago Maggiore area. Later, he won the favor of Francesco Sforza, who, among other things, in 1449 gave him Angera.

Attention high society was attracted to the rocky island in 1632, when Charles III of the Borromeo family began building a luxurious country residence on the island. It was a gift for his wife Isabella. At first, Angelo Crivelli was in charge of the construction; at the end of the 17th century, Carlo Fontana was engaged in the arrangement of the palace and the park.

During the 18th century, the secluded residence and theater attached to it attracted aristocrats from all over Europe to the island. English lords, Napoleon and Josephine, historian Edward Gibbon stayed here.

The palace impresses with the splendor of the decoration of the rooms, a luxurious collection of paintings, tapestries, antique furniture, Murano glass chandeliers and underground grottoes, the walls of which are decorated with mosaics.
The garden is 10 terraces descending to the water, decorated with niches, fountains, statues of nymphs, and at a height of 34m. rises the unicorn, the symbol of the Borromeo family.

Today the palace houses a museum. The interior decoration is made in the Baroque style, the halls are decorated with paintings, sculptures, antique furniture. The museum contains Napoleon Hall, Hall of Tapestries, Luca Giordano Hall, which features paintings by Giordano and Bernardino Luini. The ceiling is made in neoclassical style. In the lower tier of the palace there are 6 grottoes decorated with shells.

Above English garden there is an Italian garden in the early Baroque style. This small platform with 10 terraces, decorated with niches, fountains, statues of nymphs, forms a unique hanging garden. Exotic plants grow in the garden.

Madre Island (from Italian Isola Madre - "Island of the Mother") is the largest of the Borromean Islands. Length - 220 meters, width - 330 meters, the island is located in the Italian part alpine lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cussio-Ossola (Piedmont region). The island has alpine gardens, several houses and architectural structures.

Almost the entire territory of Isola Madre is occupied by two gardens: botanical and English. Here are collected the rarest and exotic plants from different corners planets, peacocks, parrots and pheasants roam freely. Luxurious rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, ancient wisterias will accompany you throughout your walk around the island. The Borromean family palace is located on the island, where this princely family still lives today. Isola Madre, thanks to the sophistication and beauty of the palace and garden, leaves an unforgettable impression on even the most picky travelers.

San Giovanni Island (from Italian Isolino di San Giovanni) is a tiny island that is part of the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore. The island of San Giovanni is distant from the rest of the Borrimean Islands.

One of the first historical mentions of the island officially dates back to 999, when it was better known as the island of San Angelo (Isola di Sant'Angelo). The island got its name from the Christian church built near the Castle of St. Michael the Archangel. Later, this church was demolished to the ground and the island was given the name San Giovanni in honor of the chapel of St. John the Baptist.

At one time, the writer Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) called the island Isola Madre " earthly paradise". The island is full of orange and lemon trees, palm trees, mimosas, camellias and ferns. The third island, Isola dei Pescatori, whose name translates as "Fisherman's Island" - these are small fishermen's houses and the church of San Vittore. Check out this cozy little island.

islands * * *

In the picturesque foothills of the Alps, in northern Italy, there is one of the most beautiful lakes on earth - Lago Maggiore, or the Great Lake. Its main attractions are the four islands that have long belonged to the noble Borromeo family - Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman's Island), Isola Madre (Mother's Island) and Isola San Giovanni (Island of St. John). Lake Maggiore - the second largest in Italy after Lake Garda - is a huge reservoir at the foot of the mountain ranges, stretching to the Swiss Alps.

The length of the lake is 65 km, the maximum width is 4.5 km. On its shores grow camellias, azaleas and verbena, from which the ancient lake got its Roman name - Verbanus. The patron saint of the area is Cardinal Carlo Borromeo. The Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore are pearls of natural beauty enriched by the creations of architects and gardeners. Isola Bella is home to the 17th century Palazzo Borromeo with a delightful park, decorative terraces, fountains, peacocks, statues and grottoes. “If you have a heart and a shirt, sell the shirt and visit the surroundings of Lago Maggiore,” the great classic Stendhal advised to do so.

Bella Island is one of the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore. Located 400 meters from the city of Stresa. The island is very small, its length is 320 meters, width is 4000 meters. Almost all of its territory is occupied by the palace and the park located around it, which belonged to the influential Borromeo family. Architectural buildings on the island became famous after Charles III (1586-1652 - a representative of the Borromeo family), as a gift to his wife Isabella, built a palace on its territory. Since 1636, the island has received a name that has become a phonetically abbreviated union of two words: Island (island) and Isabella. The palace and park were built by Angelo Crivelli, Francesco Castelli and, from the end of the 17th century, by Carlo Fontana.

Most of the figures were made by the sculptor Carlo Simonetta (1662-1695). The central statue depicting a unicorn represented the heraldic symbol of the Borromeo family. Of the ten terraces, five overlook Lake Maggiore. In the eastern part of the garden there are large lawns with decorative plantings. In general, the whole landscape complex embodies the idea of baroque theatrical scenography.
Nowadays, for all those who travel around Italy, the island hosts an annual classical music festival.

Giovanni Borromeo was a wealthy Milanese who was involved in trade and banking. The head office of the bank was in Venice, and its branches were in Milan, Rome, Bruges and London.

Vitaliano continued his uncle's work by opening two new branches of the bank in 1416 - in Burgos and in Barcelona. In 1418 he received Milanese citizenship and became treasurer of the Duchy of Milan.

In 1432, Vitaliano Borromeo built a palace outside the city (the current Borromeo Castle in Peschiera Borromeo). In 1439-1440 Filippo Maria Visconti bestowed various lands on Vitaliano, including Arona on Lake Maggiore, and in 1445 Vitaliano Borromeo was made a count by virtue of this possession. Being a favorite of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, Vitaliano received various lands in the Lago Maggiore region. Later, he won the favor of Francesco Sforza, who, among other things, in 1449 gave him Angera.

The attention of high society was drawn to the rocky island in 1632, when Charles III of the Borromeo family began building a luxurious country residence on the island. It was a gift for his wife Isabella. At first, Angelo Crivelli was in charge of the construction; at the end of the 17th century, Carlo Fontana was engaged in the arrangement of the palace and the park.

The palace amazes with the splendor of the decoration of the rooms, a luxurious collection of paintings, tapestries, antique furniture, Murano glass chandeliers and underground grottoes, the walls of which are decorated with masaic.
The garden is 10 terraces descending to the water, decorated with niches, fountains, statues of nymphs, and at a height of 34m. rises the unicorn, the symbol of the Borromeo family.

Above the English garden is an early Baroque Italian garden. This small platform with 10 terraces, decorated with niches, fountains, statues of nymphs, forms a unique Hanging Garden. Exotic plants grow in the garden.

In the north of Italy, 400 meters from the coastal town of Stresa, there is a picturesque castle island, an island park. The entire small area of the island of Isola Bella is occupied by the palace and park complex of Count Borromeo.

When Count Vitaliano VI Borromeo began construction in 1632 palace and park complex, which later became famous, Isola Bella (Italian. "Beautiful Island") was only a small rocky island on Lago Maggiore, inhabited by fishermen. The palace was supposed to be a gift to the count's wife Isabella, but the construction dragged on for decades: the southern facade of the palace was completed only in 1958. The palace and gardens were originally conceived in a single composition: as a result, the island turned into a kind of ship with a manor at the bow and a garden at the stern.

Now in the Borromeo Palace there is a museum open to tourists. Many halls of the large and majestic Borromeo estate are decorated with tapestries, expensive furniture, sculptures, paintings, stucco and mosaics.

Of particular interest from a historical point of view is the Music Hall, where the Stresa Conference was held in 1935 with the participation of British Prime Minister James MacDonald, French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and the leader of Italy, as well as the Napoleon Hall, in which the great commander spent the night in 1797 with his wife Josephine. But the caves under the palace attract with their unusual design: shells and unusual stucco. Art lovers will also be interested in the gallery of General Berthier, which contains a collection of paintings by the Borromeo family, numbering 130 works.

Adjacent to the palace is a garden, considered the finest example of a baroque garden in Italy, with elaborately tiered terraces, niches and fountains. In addition to rare species of plants, including those of exotic origin, here you can observe white peacocks with wonderful plumage.

Superb master gardeners work on the garden, who have developed such a system of planting and caring for plants that flowering in the garden does not stop from March to October.

Opening hours: daily from 9.00 to 17.30 (last admission). Art Gallery General Berthier is open from 9.00 to 13.30 (last entry at 13.00) and from 14.00 to 17.30 (last entry at 17.00)

Ticket price: €13 for adults, €6.5 for children from 6 to 15 years old, children under 6 years old free of charge. Adult groups from 18 people - €10 per person, children's groups - €5.50 per person. You can always check the current ticket prices on the official website: www.isoleborromee.it/it/home/viaggio

How to get there:

By car. On the Autostrada dei Laghi, take the direction Gravellona Toce, after the Carpugnino exit, follow the signs for Stresa. You can find the most profitable car rental option in Italy using a search engine

On the boat. Isola Bella can be easily reached by boat from the cities of Stresa, Arona, Pallanza, Locarno, Laveno, etc. There are many companies on Lake Maggiore offering passenger transportation services at any time of the day and in any direction. Additional information can be obtained by going to www.navigazionelaghi.it

By train. State Railway(Ferrovie dello Stato), line Milano-Sempione, station Stresa, further by boat. Northern Railway (Ferrovie Nord), Milano-Laveno line, Laveno station, a few meters from it, boarding a boat is organized.

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