Ticket for Isola Bella and Isola Madre from Stresa

Embark comfortably with the motorboats of C.M.A. Stresatour to discover the beauties of the Borromean Islands: Where the Borromean gulf opens up, Stresa lies. The history of Stresa differs from that of the neighboring villages since in the eighteenth century some villas began to be built and then flanked by imposing hotels in a style that sometimes recalls the Liberty. at the time of elite tourism on a favorite of King Wurttemberg, the kings of England, elisabeth of saxony, artists and writers such as Dickens, Flaubert, Stendhal, Fogazzaro. In the parish church you can see a crucifixion attributed to Morazzone.

First stop; Isola Madre rises in the middle of the gulf and features a magnificent Renaissance palace, surrounded by one of the oldest and most important gardens in Italy. The mild climate of the island has allowed over the centuries to create a wonderful botanical garden with subtropical varieties, unique and rare species of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons.

At the end of the visit of Isola Madre you can take back the boats of C.M.A. to reach Isola Bella, the most famous of the three islands, it houses the princely Borromeo palace surrounded by an Italian garden, built on ten terraces. The baroque palace contains a real museum where it is possible to admire original furnishings, Flemish tapestries in gold and silk, period weapons, sculptures, paintings and frescoes dated between the 16th and 19th centuries.

It is a valid example of Lombard baroque, the visit starts from the ground floor, continues to the noble floor with the hall of medals where, among the paintings, stands a Christ and the Cananea attributed to Annibale Caracci; the hall of honor completed from 1948 to 1959 on the original designs, the music room with ancient musical instruments and paintings by Pietro Mulier; the Napoleon room, where the general slept on August 17-18, 1797, the room of Luca Giordano, so called because it houses three paintings of mythological subjects of the famous painter, the work room, the Zuccarelli room, the corridors, the ballroom , magnificent environment designed by Abbot Zanoia. By a staircase you go down to the caves with decorations in light and dark stones with themes evoking the seabed. Go up to the main floor where the corridor of mirrors is located, the antechamber with paintings by Tiepolo del cerano by Gioacchino Assereto, the passage to the tapestry gallery.