Isola Bella and Palazzo Borromeo, Italy

Isola Bella is one of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore in north Italy. The island is situated in the Borromean Gulf 400 metres from the lakeside town of Stresa. Isola Bella is 320 metres long by 400 metres wide and is divided between the Palace, its Italianate garden, and a small fishing village. The island can be reached by service boat or motor launch from Stresa, Verbania, Baveno and Arona. In 1632, Carlo III Borromeo decided to have a palace built for his wife Isabella d’Adda and selected an empty little island opposite Stresa, where the Toce River flows into the Gulf of Verbano. Works stopped towards the middle of the 17th century due to the pestilence that developed in the dukedom of Milan, however they were later continued with renewed vigour by the sons of Carlo III, Cardinal Giberto III (1615-1672) and especially Vitaliano VI (1620-1690). The latter was responsible for appointing famous Roman architect Carlo Fontana to complete the works.

credit: emanuelestefano.foco