28 July 2017
Isola Bella
THE GARDEN
Isola Bella is a place of splendor thanks to the recurrent blooming and the priceless architectural treasures that blends into a wonderful microcosm. Since when it was transformed from barren rock to a blooming garden, the island appears as a galleon floating on the blue waters of the Lago Maggiore as his founder, Vitaliano VI Borromeo, meant for her. Visiting this place allows you to live a normal day of a long-gone era. Here, the baroque boldly blends with the green architectures of the garden, creating a sight for sore eyes.
THE PALAZZO
Isola Bella's palazzo is like a baroque chest of wonders floating on the water. You will walk though beautifully furnished halls that afford incredible views of the lake and witness many renowned artists' exclusive paintings, precious furniture, marbles, neo-classical stuccos, shining armors and Flemish tapestries made of silk and gold.
SOME HISTORY
It took four hundred years and the work of a hundred men (qualified architects, engineers, stucco workers, painters and cabinet-makers) to transform Isola Bella from a barren rock in the middle of the lake to a place of delight. Until 1630, Isola Bella was but a cliff inhabited by fishmongers, with a couple of churches and vegetable gardens sprinkled here and there. The Borromeo family, owner of Isola Madre since 1501, took an interest in the Isola Bella since the first twenty years of the century. The interest resulted into Giulio Cesare III and Carlo III starting the ambitious project for the palazzo we can see today. The project was then pursued, expanded and revised by Vitaliano VI, who is considered the official settler of Isola Bella. The work were restless even after him, and continued for all the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries until 1948, when Vitaliano IX Borromeo built the Salone Nuovo, the northern façade and the great docks.
Isola Bella is a place of splendor thanks to the recurrent blooming and the priceless architectural treasures that blends into a wonderful microcosm. Since when it was transformed from barren rock to a blooming garden, the island appears as a galleon floating on the blue waters of the Lago Maggiore as his founder, Vitaliano VI Borromeo, meant for her. Visiting this place allows you to live a normal day of a long-gone era. Here, the baroque boldly blends with the green architectures of the garden, creating a sight for sore eyes.
THE PALAZZO
Isola Bella's palazzo is like a baroque chest of wonders floating on the water. You will walk though beautifully furnished halls that afford incredible views of the lake and witness many renowned artists' exclusive paintings, precious furniture, marbles, neo-classical stuccos, shining armors and Flemish tapestries made of silk and gold.
SOME HISTORY
It took four hundred years and the work of a hundred men (qualified architects, engineers, stucco workers, painters and cabinet-makers) to transform Isola Bella from a barren rock in the middle of the lake to a place of delight. Until 1630, Isola Bella was but a cliff inhabited by fishmongers, with a couple of churches and vegetable gardens sprinkled here and there. The Borromeo family, owner of Isola Madre since 1501, took an interest in the Isola Bella since the first twenty years of the century. The interest resulted into Giulio Cesare III and Carlo III starting the ambitious project for the palazzo we can see today. The project was then pursued, expanded and revised by Vitaliano VI, who is considered the official settler of Isola Bella. The work were restless even after him, and continued for all the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries until 1948, when Vitaliano IX Borromeo built the Salone Nuovo, the northern façade and the great docks.
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Oh, the summer night! Has a smile of light, and she sits on a sapphire throne- Bryan Procter - |
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